Today’s Perfect Moment is a moment that most people wouldn’t dare nominate for the prestigious title. Even before you get to it, based on the picture, you’re probably shaking your head. I don’t blame you. I need to turn the negative into a positive. I need to find that shimmer of light in the darkness. I need to paint a picture using dark colours.
I stepped off the bus on this spring day to be greeted by howling winds and a cruel mixture of snow and rain that pelted my face. My hands felt the cold that my now stowed for winter mitts would have prevented. My head begged me to put on my toque, not knowing that it sharing a drawer with the mitts. My brain merely shrugged. Something didn’t make sense but the feeling of hunger gnawing my insides fought for prominence. My feet, feeling sore and neglected whined anew as overly ventilated running shoes were obviously not meant for this.
It was at this moment that I chose it for today’s honour. How could this be Today’s Perfect Moment? My cold body had no energy to protest something else. My stomach had its own concerns and my brain shrugged before replaying the highlights of the day on some old fashioned newsreel.
What about coffee with a friend? It was a warm and trendy, but not too trendy cafe. Your companion was interesting, funny and appropirately lewd. Why not that?
I pressed play on Procul Harum’s A Whiter Shade of Pale and crossed the street, heading for home. The cold became even more pronounced on my moving body. I contemplated what a white shade of pale would be, and looked at my surroundings.
Wait! What about that brilliant teaching moment? What about those students you motivated to learn and speak at a time when they were burnt out and only thinking about all-you-can-eat sushi? That could be Today’s Perfect Moment.
With the Hammond organ booming along, I surveyed the scene home. This was the last gasp of winter. This was winter trying to make a last stand. I had my music playing, but I could see only silence. I could feel only silence.
What about that guy who shared his music on the bus? What about that guy who reeked of marijuana?
My mind shut up as the anger of that horrible afternoon commute rose and fell. I took deep breaths, figuring I had heard the last of my mind.
What about that delicious orange you had?
Grasping for straws, I had to admit that the orange was delicious. Vitamin C delicious. However, I just could shake the idea that the gloom was somehow more captivating. Home beckoned and my mind shrugged once more.
