Sometimes it’s the simplest things that can make for a happy day. A call from friends to join them for drinks. An afternoon swim. Music. Talk of music. A quick bite to eat. Maybe a hot dog. Lots of smiles and laughter. Had a day like that yesterday. Unexpected. The best kind. They just show up. Special delivery! Here’s a good day for John.

Consequently, I slept like a baby. Hard. Then when the alarm sounded, and yes, I still set my alarm. I lingered beneath the warm covers and thought of the good day and what it means to have friends who think to give me a call. Because there is literally nothing better than being thought of in that fashion. Hey, would you like to join us?

An to think that yesterday started out with me sweating in the yard digging up khaki weed. Just a rearguard action. I barely filled half a bucket working across the entire front yard. In the early days of the war, I could fill a bucket and not even move five feet. And by this time of the year, I would have surrendered to the heat and given up. Yesterday, however, it was just a bit of quick, necessary, hot, sweaty work. I did it, then got a reward. Thanks, universe.

John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale