There are days, no matter how hard you try to avoid them will remind you that life is short.  Those days are usually wrapped up in anniversaries that are so incredibly painful that you drag yourself from bed kicking and screaming only to return to it two or three times.  It takes a few tries to see through the veil of tears to get your face washed and your teeth brushed, make up is not an option.

There are rituals involved and as comforting as they may be sometimes only the ordinary can ease you through.

Turkey and Swiss on a toasted bagel and a tiny bag of chips.  The smell of toast is nostalgic but comforting in a school-day-breakfast sort of way.

Not running out of gas, animated conversation, good parking karma and an excursion to the hardware store to gather paint chips.

Buying mums and pumpkins and gourds oh my.  The kids at the petting zoo, you at the petting zoo. The beauty of the day and the time of year.  The crisp air and the warm sun. It’s the “change” time of year with nature giving you permission to let go as it is letting go too.

The wave of kids, dozens and dozens of them piling out of school.  The laughing, the yelling, the kinetics, the colors and the music.  All vaguely familiar from long ago.

A fresh cider doughnut and more conversation.

A glass of red and dinner in the merriment of the local pub.  You’re still reminded but the ordinary life around you becomes a salve. An exhale, the day is over and the ordinary has done its job getting you from beginning to end. That and the love of friends, and family and dogs and life.