{"id":875,"date":"2011-06-11T20:13:16","date_gmt":"2011-06-11T20:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/?p=875"},"modified":"2011-06-12T04:27:03","modified_gmt":"2011-06-12T04:27:03","slug":"everyday-is-a-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/2011\/06\/everyday-is-a-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday is a gift"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyday is a gift<\/strong><\/p>\n

so says the plaque on the powder room wall.<\/p>\n

Of course, there should be a space between<\/p>\n

every and day.\u00a0 It is each and every<\/p>\n

day that is the present.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But the everyday is a gift too,<\/p>\n

wrapped in plain paper<\/p>\n

addressed in Papermate blue,<\/p>\n

bound in time and string,<\/p>\n

left on the doorstep<\/p>\n

near the mat, common as dirt and dust,<\/p>\n

ordinary as tap water, easy to miss.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When you return to the table at the restaurant<\/p>\n

it\u00a0 may have taken your seat<\/p>\n

\u2014look before you sit. It is there<\/p>\n

with you in the car too, built in better<\/p>\n

than cup holders. You can see it<\/p>\n

out your windshield\u2014big sky<\/p>\n

country and rainy day commuting,<\/p>\n

broken shoelaces and loose teeth,<\/p>\n

salty as canned soup<\/p>\n

and just as remarkable<\/p>\n

unless you have specific recall of the mundane,<\/p>\n

all happenstance and chicken fingers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be special<\/p>\n

to get a gift everyday–what greedy<\/p>\n

children we\u2019d be.\u00a0 No matter; it hangs around<\/p>\n

with your clothes and tags along after breakfast<\/p>\n

like a balloon from the carnival,<\/p>\n

or\u00a0 the toilet paper flagging your step,<\/p>\n

constant companion, sometimes making you self conscious.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A gift. A prize. A favor<\/p>\n

cheap as the tchotchke in the Cracker Jack box,<\/p>\n

cute as Monopoly\u2019s Scottie dog,<\/p>\n

succinct as a vanity plate and vague as a bubblegum fortune.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s the balled tissue in the toes of new shoes,<\/p>\n

noticeable only when you put your foot in it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Or it\u2019s a bitter process, tough-as-gristle work,<\/p>\n

comfortable as an I-told-you-so but iridescent<\/p>\n

like a pearl and dirty as a root vegetable.<\/p>\n

After all, some gifts we\u2019d like to return.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But whether it is as vexing as catsup,<\/p>\n

frivolous as confetti,<\/p>\n

or hard and gleaming like the solace<\/p>\n

we get from still being alive, it<\/p>\n

will not to be denied but remains<\/p>\n

obvious as the banner<\/p>\n

that boasts \u201csanitized for your protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sure, everyday is a gift.<\/p>\n

Unwrap it carefully<\/p>\n

and recycle the paper.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a9 Ellen Wade Beals<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

To Ceci, Peggy and Mo<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyday is a gift so says the plaque on the powder room wall. Of course, there should be a space between every and day.\u00a0 It is each and every day that is the present.   But the everyday is a gift too, wrapped in plain paper addressed in Papermate blue, bound in time and string, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[18,60,12,331,23,48,13,20,7,16,22],"class_list":{"0":"post-875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-anthology","8":"tag-appreciation","9":"tag-ellen-wade-beals","10":"tag-everyday-is-a-gift","11":"tag-gratitude","12":"tag-poem","13":"tag-poetry","14":"tag-publication","15":"tag-solace","16":"tag-solace-in-so-many-words","17":"tag-thanks","18":"entry","19":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":921,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions\/921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}