The Magic of an Ordinary Saturday
Saturday was one of those days that simply felt good for the soul.
We woke up, and Stan made coffee and breakfast. I am the “official” cook of the house—and I truly love it—but every once in a while, it feels so nice to simply sit down and enjoy whatever is placed in front of me.
He made open-faced breakfast sandwiches. They look and sound simple, but they are truly delicious! Sourdough layered with hard-boiled eggs, vine tomatoes, pickles, onions, and different spices. But honestly, maybe what makes them SO good is the fact that they are made with love—and that I didn’t have to do a single thing for them to arrive on my plate. 😃
I also made my daily yogurt with collagen, flax, and chia seeds, but on Saturday, I switched things up and added peaches instead of my usual apples or blueberries.
And then we sat on the deck for as long as we wanted.
We chatted, laughed, and made plans for the future. There was nowhere we needed to rush off to and nothing demanding our immediate attention. Bella eventually joined us, and the three of us spent some time just relaxing on the deck together.
After breakfast, I suddenly got this incredible burst of energy—and immediately put it to good use.
I turned the house upside down. Almost literally.
I flipped couches and vacuumed underneath them, along the sides, and beneath the cushions. I took off vent covers, vacuumed and dusted them. I power-cleaned all the bathrooms, steamer in hand and all. Even the kitchen garbage can was completely taken apart, sanitized, steamed, and hosed down. Floors were swept and washed, walls and baseboards were wiped down, and the kitchen was stripped down so the counters could be sanitized and polished.
Sounds a little over the top. Maybe it was. 😅
But honestly, I love doing that every once in a while. I LOVE cleaning. There is something incredibly satisfying about looking around at the end of the day and knowing that everything has been thoroughly cleaned. That “the house is so clean and it smells so good” feeling is one of the best!
And I wasn’t the only one busy.
Stan cleaned the cars and polished Bella’s car, while Bella spent most of the day in her bedroom organizing, cleaning, and decluttering. It turned into this amazing day of all three of us working on our own little projects, together.
Once all the chores were done, I showered, and we headed out—folding chairs in the car and no elaborate plans. We picked up sandwiches and salads from Panera and drove to a local forest preserve to eat dinner lakeside.
It was a gorgeous evening for dinner by the water.
Before I knew it, I realized that a family I know with four young children had set themselves up not too far from us. They had a small tent, chairs, a table, and all kinds of food. The kids and their dad were fishing while the mom and their youngest daughter played under a tree.
Magical, right?
It really was.
There was something so beautiful and inspiring about watching them enjoy such a simple afternoon together. No elaborate entertainment. No fancy plans. Just a family, a lake, fishing poles, food, and time.
As we were getting ready to pick up our chairs and throw away our food bags before going for a walk, one of the boys ran over to Bella. He had caught a tiny lake shrimp and wanted her to have it. He put it in a Solo cup with plenty of water, handed it to her, and said, “Here, it’s for you. Take it!”
The sweetest little offering.
We eventually said goodbye to our lakeside spot, and Stan, Bella, and I went for a walk through the forest preserve. As we walked, we watched the most beautiful sunset slowly close out the day.
When we got home, we watched a movie together before going to sleep. By then, my body was definitely feeling all the feels from the hard work I had put it through earlier!
But Saturday felt like magic in every way.
And perhaps my favorite part was that all three of us seemed to know it while it was happening.
It wasn’t a vacation. It wasn’t a celebration. There was nothing extraordinary on the calendar. It was breakfast on the deck, a ridiculously clean house, cars being washed, rooms being organized, sandwiches by a lake, a little boy proudly offering his tiny catch, a walk at sunset, and a movie before bed.
Just an ordinary Saturday.
But maybe that is exactly where so much of life’s magic is hiding—in the ordinary days when we are present enough to notice just how extraordinary they really are.
