any day with you, babe

When I was younger, there is no doubt that my most ideal day, beginning to end, would be one spent in New York City.

I might even want to spend that day there alone, because I did that once, I went for three days and two nights alone, and it was the best trip to the city I can remember.

I took the train, a little over two hours from New Haven to Grand Central, and I sat writing in my journal and listening to music.

But the people around me didn’t know that part of that time I wasn’t listening to music, I was listening to the people around me, as I did so much in those days, and imagined what all of their lives were like.

Why is this person in a suit, carrying only a briefcase, traveling into the city? What business does he do? Is this a normal work day for him, or is this trip important? What does he do that affords him the ability to live on the Connecticut shore and work in NYC?

I think I spend too much time wondering how other people are able to afford things, and don’t do enough to make it easier for myself to afford things.

I should write things that matter, I should write more.

I should also focus.

Now, I’m old and tired.

I would still love a trip to the city, but I can’t say it’s part of my ideal day.

My ideal day involves palm trees, sand, clear blue water, and piña coladas.

My ideal day has me (in a cabana!) on a beach with the love of my life. We’ll hold hands from our dueling beach chairs and toast our frosty drinks to us, for making it there, in all ways.

We’ll snorkel, maybe we’ll take a ride on a sailboat at sunset because I’ve never been on a sailboat that wasn’t at dock.

Later, we’ll have a delicious dinner of whatever I want (because this is my ideal day, remember?).

After, there will be some kind of bonfire on the beach, music, fire, maybe some dancing, hey, maybe we’re in Maui and that’s cool.

We’ll get comfortably tipsy and make our way down the dock to our over-water bungalow with its plunge pool (Oh, are we in Bora Bora? Even better!), and hammock over the water.

I’ll probably want to drink more and go for a dip, and eventually, Bobby will convince me to come to bed, and we’ll cuddle and then go to sleep cause we’re old and tired.

I’m not letting my ideal day end there, though.

This began on the beach in the afternoon, so I’m getting my full 24 hour ideal “day”.

In the morning we’ll wake up with the sun.

We’ll cuddle in bed and watch it rise over the water, we’ll have some slow, sweet sex, and then when we’re ready, we’ll open our bungalow door to a breakfast feast with copious coffee.

Of course, we’ll drink our coffee in the lounge chairs on our private bungalow’s back deck, and we’ll hold hands, and we’ll contemplate the day, and if we’ve really gotten there, probably also life.

My ideal day doesn’t involve having any stuff.

My ideal day doesn’t have to be expensive, either.

The bungalow is a fantasy, but the truth is any beach will do just fine, and if not even that, a pool works, too.

My ideal day is any day I get to wake up in the morning and go to bed at night with the person I love more than any other in the world.

I’m so lucky that now, all of my days are ideal.