Caley in Real Life

I've seen the movie Dan in Real Life about five times, plus or minus one. There's one part in the first half of the movie where one of the characters asks Marie to describe how her perfect day would be. Each time, it causes me to contemplate what would comprise my perfect day, but I never fail to remain clueless. What makes a day perfect? New experiences or old ones? Friends or family? Relaxing or going on an adventure? Europe, Asia, Africa...or home? Ideally, it'd contain all these; but alas, no 24-hour period, even a perfect one, can.

Last night, as I lie in bed, I decided, as paradoxical as it sounds, that the perfect day is actually not perfect at all. It can be one of an infinite number of combinations of normal situations rather than extraordinary experiences. With that said, I think the past two days have been perfect.

Yesterday did not begin well. In a rush to get ready for breakfast and Sherpa training, I spilled wet coffee grounds all over my newly made quilt, lost my keys and ID card, forgot to bring my books and paper to training, and spilled coffee all over the table at breakfast--including my pants and poor Megan's binder and folder. Not too great of a morning, right? Yet, miraculously, everything turned out okay. My good friend (and now hero) Mandie found my Tide stick so the coffee stain could be removed successfully from my quilt, everyone at breakfast helped me clean my spilled coffee, and at lunch I found my keys and ID. And if the simple rectification of my unfortunate situations wasn't enough to brighten my mood, I had the delightful opportunity of spending time praying with Mandie before training for the day started. To top it off, I got to spend the entirety of my afternoon painting signs for my Terra Firma group (yay Pacific!) and for the camp buses. I never knew painting could be so rejuvenating. Following the evening's activities, I returned to my room where I got to laugh and discuss important issues with Liz, my roommate. Afterward, we went on a very distracted expedition to Meijer, at Frosted Mini Wheats, and watched Asian shows till three in the morning. It was after all that that I went to bed and thought to myself, "Today was perfect." Why was it perfect? I got to spend it with three of my favorite people. I learned a lot. I laughed a lot. I painted. I accomplished a lot, but relaxed a lot. I loved a lot. 

Today was perfect again. Today almost seemed like an extension of yesterday. After getting up at ten, I started reading the first chapter of my Spanish book, got ready for the day, did devotions with Liz, watched more Asian TV all afternoon, visited and had coffee with Mandie, and spend the night with fellow Sherpas. We talked, read from Mark 8-11, sang, and prayed. I love that there are so many wonderful, encouraging people in my life. I couldn't have asked for a better, or more perfect, beginning to my year.