{"id":9127,"date":"2016-06-11T15:44:20","date_gmt":"2016-06-11T15:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/?p=9127"},"modified":"2016-06-11T18:41:57","modified_gmt":"2016-06-11T18:41:57","slug":"everyday-is-a-gift-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/2016\/06\/everyday-is-a-gift-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday is a gift"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

so says the plaque on the bathroom wall.
\nOf course there should be a space between
\nevery and day. It is each and every
\nday that is the present.<\/p>\n

But the everyday is a gift too,
\nwrapped in plain paper
\naddressed in Papermate blue,
\nleft at the doorstep, bound in time and string
\nnear the mat, common as dirt and dust,
\nordinary as tap water,
\neasy to miss.<\/p>\n

When you return to the table
\nit may have taken your place
\n\u2014look before you sit. It travels
\nwith you in the car, built in better
\nthan cup holders, and you can see it
\nout your windshield\u2014big sky
\ncountry and rainy day commuting
\nbroken shoelaces and loose teeth,
\nsalty as canned soup
\nand just as unmemorable
\nunless you have specific recall of the mundane,
\nall happenstance and chicken fingers.<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be special
\nto get a gift everyday–what greedy
\nchildren we\u2019d be. No matter;
\nit waits for you like clothes
\nand tags along after breakfast
\nlike a balloon from the shoe store,
\nor the toilet paper streaming from your heel,
\nconstant companion, sometimes making you self conscious<\/p>\n

A gift. A prize. A favor
\ncheap as the tchotchke in the Cracker Jack box.
\nand cute as Monopoly\u2019s Scottie dog
\nsuccinct as a vanity plate
\nor wise as the bubblegum fortune.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the balled tissue in the toes of new shoes,
\nremarkable only when you put your foot in.
\nOr it\u2019s a bitter process, all hard work
\nand irritation, comforting as an I-told-you-so
\niridescent like a pearl, tough as gristle, and
\ndirty as a root vegetable.
\nAfter all, some gifts we\u2019d like to return.<\/p>\n

But whether it is as vexing as catsup,
\nfrivolous as confetti,
\nor hard and gleaming like the cold comfort
\nwe get from still being alive, it is
\nright here: not to be denied,
\nlike the streamer that announces
\n\u201csanitized for your protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, everyday is a gift.
\nUnwrap it carefully
\nand save the paper.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Ellen Wade Beals, 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This poem appeared in Verse Wisconsin<\/em><\/strong>, Issue 111, April 2013. I also posted it to this site five years ago. Today\u00a0 I want to share these same sentiments; I feel grateful for all I have. One thing not mentioned is my gratitude to you for reading. So let me say it:\u00a0 thank you so much<\/strong> for giving me your attention.<\/p>\n

Peace, love, and solace<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Morning<\/a>
Morning shadows \u00a9 Ellen Wade Beals, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyday is a gift so says the plaque on the bathroom wall. Of course there should be a space between every and day. 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, left at the doorstep, bound in time […]<\/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":[18,60,127,12,3009,3010,23,39,13,2237,3011,7,16,769,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-9127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-anthology","8":"tag-appreciation","9":"tag-contributors-2","10":"tag-ellen-wade-beals","11":"tag-everyday","12":"tag-grateful","13":"tag-gratitude","14":"tag-photography","15":"tag-poetry","16":"tag-shadow","17":"tag-shadow-photography","18":"tag-solace","19":"tag-solace-in-so-many-words","20":"tag-verse-wisconsin","21":"tag-weighed-words","22":"entry","23":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9127","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=9127"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9139,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9127\/revisions\/9139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}