It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...


Do you remember in the movie City Slickers when the men on the cattle drive discussed their best and worst days? I was thinking of that this weekend, when my house was full-to-bursting with my favorite people.

My best days are all the ones when I see those favorite people and they are healthy and happy. It sounds—and is, I guess—pretty sappy, but there’s nothing like dancing in the kitchen with your grandkids. Then there was the day a few months back that I got two emails within minutes of each other—one an offer from Carina for Jar of Dreams and the other a question that resulted in the sale of A Soft Place to Fall to Harbourlight Books. I talked to all those favorite people AND had a couple of dreams come true within an hour, so maybe that was the best day.

It’s just as difficult to choose my worst day. There have been losses and hurts and frightened times, but it’s hard to think of them as “worst”—they are more like days of survival and they come to all of us.

This has been a rambling sort of non-post, and I apologize for that, but what about you? What’s been your best day, and, if sharing it isn’t too painful, your worst?

Comments

  1. Besides marriage and childbirth, I'd say my best day was the day I got my first novel accepted. That was a day that fulfilled my wildest dream. As for my worst day--I repress them. LOL! Honestly, I can't think of one, even though everyone has had deeply painful times. What can Isay... it's a gift. ;)

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    1. I wonder if that's a writer thing, because I couldn't really think of one either. And I'm grateful for it! Thanks for stopping by, Patty.

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  2. I try and focus on the 'happy and healthy' and simply forget about the worst.

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    1. Good for that survival, huh, Maddy? Thanks for coming by!

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  3. Sounds like you had a great weekend, Liz! That is wonderful! I've had a lot of best days - like you most revolve about the people sharing those days with me. One of the best was bebe's adoption day - it was just...perfect. The worst, my birthday in 2008 - that's the day we thought we were going to lose bebe...didn't learn about the adoption until the following Monday. What a loooooong weekend!

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    1. I remember that, Kristi. I'm so glad it went the way it did.

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  4. Best day? The birth of my daughter is probably tops. Worst? I prefer to keep that one to myself! Oh, and getting a book published! That felt pretty good!

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    1. You know, I have one of those bad ones, too, that I don't even think about, much less talk about.

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  5. Best day - hands down, the birth of my first child. Unbelievably amazing. (not the labor part, but you know what I mean)

    Worst day - The day my mother died two and a half years ago.

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    1. My condolences, Lynne. That's not something that ever goes away.

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  6. The birth of my daughters are right up there, but I'd have to say my best day was the night I held Jordan for the first time. See, she was a preemie who was born five weeks early and five weeks undergrown, weighing in at 2.12 pounds. After an emergency c-section, she was whisked away. I didn't see her for over 18 hours.

    On my third night in the hospital, a nurse came into my room around midnight to wake me up because Jordan had wet her isolette and the bedding had to be changed. The nurse thought I might like to hold her. And I swear she knew I was her mommmy. She kept her eyes open the entire time I was there like she was afraid I'd leave her again--which I did. It would be another week or so before I got to hold her again.

    So, yep that was my best day.

    My worst day was probably the day I went home from the hospital and she stayed behind. It just seemed so wrong that I was going home empty-handed. Even though I knew it was necessary, it was such a hard thing to go through.

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    1. I had to leave one at the hospital, too, though only for two days. It was some kind of horrible.

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  7. Best day - the day I met the man who would become my life mate 54 years ago. We celebrate 52 years of marriage May 30.

    And I have lot of worst days, but the longer you live the more tomatoes get thrown you way. You just have to learn to make salsa.

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    1. Congratulations on 52 years. Our 41st was on May 29. You're right about the salsa, too--that's why they're survival days instead of worst ones, I guess. Thanks for coming by!

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  8. I'd have to say the day I got out of the hospital after my son was born. Sixteen and a half house of induced piggy-back contractions, followed by a C-section was not wonderful. Then the hospital didn't have on demand nursing for the baby. After we got home, it was smooth sailing. Since then, I've had several happy days, marriage to my husband of 29 years, passing the bar, discovering I could write fiction,and getting my agent. My worst was probably my mother dying.It's been three years, and I still miss her.

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    1. The loss of our mothers seems to be a common thread. My relationship with mine was problematic, but, like you, I still miss her.

      Thanks for coming by.

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  9. If I remember correctly, the birth of children were excluded for that conversation, so best day, in recent memory would be the day I was offered my first publishing contract. Worst day ever? The loss of our 22 month old grandson.

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    1. Oh, Sharon, I'm so sorry. That's the worst thing I can imagine.

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