On Being Ordinary

Today's post is part of the Slice of Life roundup at Two Writing Teachers.  Stop by for links to many great slices or, better yet, join the fun by linking your own piece.  Thanks to all for hosting.


For a recent party, we were asked to write one thing that was true about us and one thing that was false.  Of course, the idea is that you have something so outlandish that is true that others will think it must be false.  The request overwhelmed me a bit though it was a simple one.  What do you tell people when you live an ordinary life?

Do you talk about the way you wake up each morning as the orange, red sun ascends into the sky?  You walk into the kitchen, pour a cup of coffee, and add a little creamer to make it sweet.  The smell of the coffee brings you comfort and you linger to take it in.

Do you talk about the way your drive to work passing the fields of brown or green or white depending upon the time of year?  You sing to the latest top hits at the top of your lungs as you meander down country roads.  Some mornings you are lucky enough to spot a heron, her wings gracefully carrying her between land and sky.

Do you share the way you walk into your classroom and feel at home?  The halls outside your classroom are filled with banter as others arrive and prepare for their day.  The room soon fills with the voices of young friends greeting one another.  You laugh at the stories rushing in through the door as you begin another day of learning.  You spend the day reading books, listening to stories, watching students reach for the next star.

Do you talk about the way you drive home back into the sun now slowly descending upon the fields before you?  You pull up into the driveway to the see the oddly shaped house that has, for more years than  you would have imagined, been the place you call home.  You pause as you walk up the sidewalk to notice the flowerbeds full of tulips or annuals or brown leaves or snow depending upon the season.

Do you talk about the feeling of comfort as you walk back inside?  Everything feels familiar as you place your things on the floor near the couch.  You go to the kitchen and begin to fill the house with the smells of dinner.  You glance out the window at the growing number of trees beginning to rise above the house.  You gaze at the patio soon ready for you to pull up a chair and stay for awhile.  Slowly, one by one, others return from their days of bustling about; each sharing stories of challenges and triumphs.

How do you explain your gratitude for this ordinary life?  The moon rises in the night sky.  The silence of winter or the gentle of hum of warmer weather fill the air around you.  The world is full of challenges for so many and sometimes your heart aches for them.  You sit in the chair and gaze at the stars lighting the ebony sky thankful to be in this place, with these people, at this time.

How it happened you do not know.  All you know is that this life, this simply ordinary life, is an extraordinary gift you've been given.