Sunday, May 25, 2008

oh what is so rare

I realized a few years back that I like many other people have a tendency to think only about the unusual or extraordinary days as special, and vowed to change. I decided to make sure to notice all the really great, perfect days, ordinary days. The more I paid attention, the more really great days, perfect days I discovered.

Yesterday, Saturday, was another one of those perfect days. The key to a perfect day (in my life) is that its a day that John and I spend doing things together (rather than in our respective home offices). However, it was also spectacularly beautiful -- oh "what is so rare as a day in" May, "when if ever come perfect days?" [Yes, I know the poem says "June"]. Blue skies, clear pure air, mild warmth, and everything all around so very green.

We learned, via our local country weekly paper, that a brand new, six screen movie theatre had been constructed (utilizing a long empty grocery store), about 25 miles (a 40 minute drive) from us in Norton, Virginia. This is a major development for our area.

So on Saturday we took off for the movies to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I discovered C. S. Lewis when I was about 12 and read the Chronicles several times in the next few years. It's something that I come back to every decade and reread again. I'm a Jew and John's a Buddhist, but we both enjoy Lewis's fantasy world, although Prince Caspian was never my favorite and the movie reminded me of why that is -- its basically all one long series of battles with little respite. Nonetheless the movie was beautiful and thrilling, and we both enjoyed it. The new theatre was very nice, with comfortable stadium seating.

Afterwards we stopped at the new Dara Thai restaurant not far from the theatre. Yes, actual people from Thailand in central Appalachia. Fabulous food -- and five different vegetarian entrees from which John could choose. We are definitely going back.

Then, because we don't like to waste any trips these days, we stopped at K-Mart, Lowe's and finally at the big Food City in Wise. Shopping together is fun. We even ran into some friends of ours, Suzanne and Gene, also wandering hand in hand through Lowe's and had a brief visit.

Nothing momentous, nothing spectacular happened, but it was a perfect day.

4 comments:

Jessica said...

Great post! I hope you and your husband's summer is full of them!

Aiyana said...

I love those perfect days. We also had one on Saturday. I live in the desert Southwest, where the temperatures are usually over 100 degrees by now. Our high Saturday was 72 degrees, setting a new record low for that date in our history. It was such a wonderful relief from the high the week before of 110. Such a break makes for a perfect day.
Aiyana

sgreerpitt said...

Thanks for visiting Aiyana!

Qaro said...

That sounds like a great day and that's wonderful news about the new movie theater and the Thai restaurant. Very cool.

My husband and I also had a beautiful morning Saturday. We drove out to a friend's in the country (LOL) so he could fly his plane before wind kicked up. The field was misty. I learned how to use the binoculars and watched the robins and the red-wing blackbirds and some others: "little grey ones" and "little brown ones".