One of those days....

"It’s just been one of those days, one of those days
Every glass half full, every drop lemonade
Just one of those days, one of those days
All my worries to bed
And my faith wide awake
Hey, hey, hey
Just one of those days
Just one of those days

There’s a smile I can’t turn down
For a dance across my face
And the way I see things now
A frown would just be out of place"


These lyrics are by Shaun Groves and I think they seem to fit this blog perfectly. Let me explain...

You know when you have one of those days where you look back and simply smile? Im talking about a day where everything in the world seems to be right for a brief period of time. Even though reality is right around the corner, some days are the perfect break from all stress, worry, and anything that can get us down in this world. Days like these are the days when we truly feel alive.

I had a day just like the one I am referring to this past week. As most of you know I am living in an apartment attached to the house of one of my friends from Messiah. Well, due to the fact that he is still in school and is going to be a US Marine Officer after college, he hasnt been home hardly at all. Well the past few weeks he has finally had a chance to have a real summer vacation and this past Tuesday we decided that we were going to take advantage of living in the same place.

The day started at 9am. We left the house and headed to the PA border where his family has a membership to a shooting range. I had never been shooting so it was a sweet new experience. If you are reading this you probably know that Im all about trying new things and new adventures so this was right up my alley. We spent about two hours at the range shooting pistols and rifles. I think I held my own for my first time. I wasnt the most accurate marksman in the world but it was a start. As Dan put it, "you did really well for your first time, I just wouldnt let you shoot an apple off my head."

From the range we headed back to Califon, NJ (home) to move onto our next activity: Dirt biking. This was another activity I hadnt done before and there was a slight risk of death/injury so naturally I was stoked. I had two issues with dirt biking. First, you have to understand the workings of a manual car to ride a dirt bike. I have a decent understanding of how that all works but I like to stick to automatic cars. Needless to say this made it a little tougher. I caught on pretty quick though. Second, I have little fear of injury so I wasnt too concerned about my body or the fact that Ive never driven a dirt bike before. I had a few nice crashes but overall it was a blast.

Once we put the dirt bikes away we gave ourselves five minutes to change our clothes and hop into our bathing suites. We were back on the road in no time and on our way to Penwell Mills. Basically its like the yellow breeches of New Jersey. It was a creek with some spots to swim but more importantly it had three different rope swings. It also had a few trees we could climb and jump into the river. Dan and I both took our fair share of turns on both the tree and the rope swing. Personally, Im partial to the rope swing. While Dan and I discussed the dynamics of doing a backflip of the rope swing, our brilliant maturity and wise minds decided it would be more fun to enjoy the rest of the day with all our body parts where they belong.

On the way back home from the rope swing Dan and I took a look at the clock and discovered that we were going to get home around 4:00pm. If we moved quickly we could make it to the golf course in time to get a good round in before dark. So upon arriving at the house, we took 15 minutes, changed our clothes and hit the road yet again for the golf course. At this point in the day both Dan and I were a bit worn out and I think it showed on the golf course. As I mentioned before, it was one of those days where the glass was always half full. In this instance it was a good thing because both of us played some less than desirable golf.

After a quick dinner at McDonalds we arrived back at the house at 9:00pm. A mere 12 hours after we left the house for the first time that day.

Needless to say, when our heads hit the pillow that night it didnt take long to fall asleep. Word of advice for the day. Make time to rejuvenate not only your body but also your spirit. We all need a break from the stresses of day to day life. We all need a day to feel alive (whatever that means for you).

Later days

Brett