Crunchy Peanut Butter Days
Someone said to me this morning that they hoped my day was smooth. It’s such a common thing to wish another person. Or a phrase to describe a good experience. I hope your travels are smooth. I hope your tests go smoothly. Gosh, both my commutes today were so smooth! Etcetera, etcetera.
Later on, I saw that same person I spoke with this morning. My day had gone the opposite of smooth, but everything had still worked itself out. When that person asked how my day had been, I said it had gone as smooth as crunchy peanut butter. A lot of bumpy pieces, with just enough smooth spots to hold it together.
I’ve never used that analogy until today. I’ve never heard anyone else use that analogy either. But it fits. And I’m sure today won’t be the last time I use it. Because honestly, a lot of days are as smooth as crunchy peanut butter. Bumps happen, and things often work out okay anyway.
November has been a month of crunchy peanut butter days. It’s never my favorite month of the year in the first place, but this November has been somewhat of an exhausting doozy. Back to the peanut butter analogy, almost no days have been smooth. A lot have been extra crunchy.
I don’t often put much stock in the magic of flipping the calendar page to a clean month. But I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s clean slate more than I usually do. This November is a month I’m happy to be leaving in the rearview.
And yet, there are a lot of good memories made during this last month too. Like catching up with several friends I haven’t been able to hug for years. And making a full brunch spread to spectate the NYC Marathon in my living room. I learned to make homemade bagels, and I got to bake my sister her annual birthday cake.
I visited some favorite coffee shops in different states, and traced my steps on old running routes. After several years running solo, I finally had a traditional turkey trot morning. My house is constantly dirtier than I’d like it to be, and my to-do list has remained too long every day. And after a year and a half of being consistent, I even missed sharing my writing for a week.
We weren’t planning on traveling to see family for Thanksgiving, but circumstances happened. Instead of a short work week and a quiet holiday, it was a week off work and multiple days with extended family. Another chair is empty when our family gets together now. Another reminder of how special that time together really is.
Like I said, there’ve been a lot of crunch peanut butter days lately.
But tomorrow morning, I get to turn the page to a new month. To a clean state of fresh days in my planner. It’s a ritual I enjoy every month, but I’m more excited for it than usual. Among other things, my to-do list is still too long. But it feels less daunting somehow when there’s a whole new month ahead to tackle it.
And that’s what December is. A whole new month of possibilities. Thirty-one days that may or may not go smoothly. Maybe it will be another month filled with crunchy peanut butter days, and maybe not. There’s no way to know. But somewhere along the way, bumps will happen. It’s up to us to know that things will often work out okay anyway.
A November Note: As mentioned in this writing, I missed a week this month. Sometime in December, I’ll share a bonus writing to make up for it. I’ll do my best to make it worth the wait.
