What makes ‘the best day’? A few weeks ago we had family over to share crabs, beer, and burgers. My granddaughter, Sophie, who is five was the only child there. She seemed to enjoy herself, played nicely, ate crabs and lots of corn, found her Twizzler in her dessert drawer (where I keep candy just for her), put up no fuss when it was time to leave, waved and said “Bye everybody” (after a bit of coaxing – she’s very shy), and hopped in the car.

On the way home Sophie kept saying to my daughter, “That was the best day, wasn’t it, Mom?” and “Wasn’t that the best day?” and “I had the best day!” for the whole hour ride.

So, what made it ‘the best day’ for her? Who knows? What makes any day that good? It’s kind of impossible to pin down, isn’t it?

I have found that special days are rarely ‘the best days’. My wedding day, for example, was not a ‘best’ day. It was a good day and marrying Tom was the best thing I’ve ever done, but the day went by in a whirl. We were tired and nervous and it was over in the wink of an eye.

But there was an evening when Tom and I sat at the Lincoln Memorial and talked for the longest time. Just the two of us. I can’t remember why we were there or much of what we talked about, but it was a lovely night and the feeling of that night has never gone away.

Another memory that always makes me smile is driving home from Baltimore with my brother back in the summer 1965. I remember it vividly, the sun roof open, Beatles on the radio, a tree lined portion of Route 1. We were happy and singing and having fun and it was the best . 

I have so many ‘best’ moments with my sisters, my best friend, Tom and the kids. Unfortunately, these tend to get overshadowed by the rest of life, the hard parts, the sadness, the day to day routine. So my new resolution is to try and think about a ‘best’ time, a memory that will make me smile, every time ‘real life’ chooses to smack me on the head. Maybe it will help. maybe not. But I think it’s worth a try.