I love Fridays. (I also love Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, of course. 🙂 ) Each one is a gift, as far as I’m concerned, one I’m grateful to receive.
Still, there’s something festive about Fridays–there are responsibilities to meet, naturally, but for me, at least, Fridays are sort of like Christmas Eve–all the magic and mystery of the weekend are ahead, waiting to be discovered. Sure, Saturday will bring the usual errands, a mail run for Bernice the Yorkster and me, possibly a trip to the grocery store, laundry to do, a table to be painted. Where’s the magic and mystery, you may ask? Well, it’s there for sure–if I look for it. Maybe it’s an insight or an idea, something that comes to me while I’m riding my exercise bike (50 minutes this morning, over 11 miles, and more than 400 calories burned, scale be damned), reading or listening to a book, playing music, walking the dog, journaling, meditating or any of a dozen other things.
This morning, for instance, I “saw” into the characters and certain scenes of a new book I’m planning. I was pedaling away on my trusty bike, thinking about the story, and the magic began to happen. It was all internal, unfolding as vividly as a fresh memory in my imagination, but I might as well have been watching a movie. Needless to say, this is an exciting experience–the imagination is an exciting (if sometimes scary) place. 🙂 I’ve taken to keeping a pile of blank index cards and a pen within reach while I’m exercising–I might want to remember the title of a song, or the name of a book mentioned on a favorite podcast, or a Bible verse I want to look up or memorize. I often copy quotes on index cards, too, and tape them to the front of the fridge or even a cupboard door.
Sundays are fairly predictable for most of us, I think–church for some, extra sleep for others, movies and golf games and good books. Around here, Sunday is usually pretty laid back, composed mostly of quiet activities like reading, catching episodes of a current favorite TV show of mine, the Destination America channel’s A Haunting (I say ‘current’ because I’m fickle when it comes to TV), doing some kind of art work and almost always sharing a family dinner with Wendy and Jeremy. Their smiley golden retriever, Margie, usually comes along and delights us all–except maybe Bernice and Jitterbug.) We laugh, talk, learn from and love each other. And wherever there is love, my friends, there is magic.
And so it goes. Every day is precious.
Make good use of your weekend–expect joy.
About Linda
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.
Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a horse property outside Spokane.
