I decide to wash my car.


As I start toward the garage,
I notice that there is mail on the hall table


I decide to go through the
mail before I wash the car.


I lay my car keys down on the table, put the
junk mail in the trash can under the table,
and notice that the trash can is full.


So, I decide to put the bills back on
the table and take out the trash first.


But then I think, since I'm going to be near
the mailbox when I take out the trash anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.


I take my checkbook off the table,
and see that there is only one check left


My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
so I go to my desk where I find the
can of Coke that I had been drinking.


I'm going to look for my checks,
but first I need to push the Coke aside
so that I don't accidentally knock it over.


I see that the Coke is getting warm,
and I decide I should put it in the
refrigerator to keep it cold.


As I head toward the kitchen with the coke, a
vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye
-- they need to be watered.


I set the Coke down on the counter,
and I discover my reading glasses
that I've been searching for all morning.


I decide I better put them back on my desk,
but first I'm going to water the flowers.


I set the glasses back down on the counter,
fill a container with water and
suddenly I spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.


I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I will be looking for the remote, but I won't
remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I
decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,
but first I'll water the flowers.


I splash some water on the flowers,
but most of it spills on the floor. So, I
set the remote back down on the table,
get some towels and wipe up the spill.


Then I head down the hall trying to
remember what I was planning to do.


At the end of the day:
the car isn't washed,
the bills aren't paid,
there is a warm can of
Coke sitting on the counter,
the flowers aren't watered,
there is still only one
check in my checkbook,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what
I did with the car keys.


Then when I try to figure out
why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I
know I was busy all day long,
and I'm really tired.


I realize this is a serious problem,
and I'll try to get some help for it,
but first I'll check my e-mail.


Do me a favor, will you?
Send this to everyone you know,
because I don't remember
to whom it has been sent.


Don't laugh --
if this isn't you yet,
your day is coming!
GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY.
GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL


LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC!

"Each New Day"
midi by

2003 Bruce DeBoer
Used with permission of the composer.