Papa Kyle's Surefire Recipe for a Good Day

Papa Kyle here!  We all in search of that special something that light up a day and turn it into something special.  In my experience, that special blend of happy be hard to achieve, don't you think?  I'm here to tell ya something about it.  Pay close attention now.  It be happening quick from here on out.

It's necessary to gather the right material now.  Start with the following:

1 cup of a good day's work doing something you love.
2 hefty doses of quality family time.
A half cup of routine
A dash of whimsy

Image courtesy of A Food Affair

Whenever following a recipe, it's important to choose quality ingredients.  So, how do you tell if you've chosen quality work?  Well, do you wake up ready to meet the day?  Do you anticipate the challenge you know you will find at work as opposed to dreading it?  Then, you have a quality job right there.  Yessireebob.  I got to sub for an instructor at PCC the other day.  Fiction workshop.  I was excited.  I had that spark, that energy, that drives a day forward and fills it with excitement and contentedness. That a good sign of good work...for me.  You got to grow your own garden for this ingredient.

Family time, now.  You can't be skimpy when it comes to the family time.  You listen to me on this one.  The quickest way to good days is to surround yourself with the people you love on the regular.  Morning, noon, or night.  It don't matter none.  You just get your hiney home and make good on the promise your family provides.  You play, you eat, you talk, you dance, you laugh, you snuggle, you do whatever need doing for those others in your life.  Hefty doses now.  Big as big can be.

Photo courtesy of Carolyn Anderson MD

Routine have a bad name for some.  Routine mean drudgery, mean boredom, but those people don't know what they be saying.  Routine keep a person strong, healthy.  Eating on the regular.  Sleeping on the regular.  These be good things for the soul.  Put yourself to bed.  Schedule your meals.  Plan ahead.  Those who say it be boring don't understand the benefits of a planned meal. Frees up more time for the family.  The planned meal be quick.  The scheduled bedtime put a husband and a wife in the bed together.  These things are good for the soul.  You just take my word now.

Art courtesy of Ann Rodriguez

I handle the naysayers right here.  You may wonder how one can have routine and whimsy at the same time.  Well don't be simple now.  The one doesn't void the other.  Every moment don't need routine.  Every moment don't need planning.  Every living thing got to breathe and you treat every day like it alive.  You treat every day like it need some air and some light, and you have a chance of making my recipe.  Get outside some.  Don't strangle the day.  Be gentle with it.  Find a moment.  You notice the moon be full the last couple of days?  Open your eyes. Take a moment. Slow down.  Walk outside.  Turn the t.v. off.  That glowing electric eyeball be waiting for you when you get back anyway.  The moment don't need be much, but it need be.

Throw all these things into the big bowl of a day and mix up real good, then you find yourself whistling in the morning.  You find your child smiling at you in the evening.  You find your spouse whispering your name when the lights go dark.  And the veil of sleep will bring you dreams both wild and real, for the waking life be just as happy as the sleeping one.

Start cooking now.  You just follow the recipe, hear?