MY RED LETTER DAY

My niece Abby had to write an essay about her "red letter day"; a day that is perfect and anything that you desire can and will happen. Her day starts by waking up in her own room atop a feather bed. She goes into great detail about describing what her silken sheets look like and how late she will sleep in that day. When I heard about her day, which included one million dollars and an iPod, I decided that I should think about and document what my red letter day would include. I'd love to hear your red letter day, too.

I wake up to a comforting 70 degree breeze blowing through my open door. I can hear the waves rising and hitting the beach which happens to be just outside my door. It's 8:30 am. As I stir I hear Nate's breath and I know he's there next to me. After our standard 10 minute cuddle in the morning, we jump out of our heavenly bed and into our running shoes. In under ten minutes we are out on the beach for our morning run. I happen to weigh 115 pounds and Nate has never looked better.

After our run we make a breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt and granola and enjoy our meal out on the terrace, facing the ocean. We moved to the beach just after we made it rich from my really clever invention (which really exists). Nate and I are both retired. I'm 36, he's 31. Though it feels like a weekend, it's not. Around 10:00 Rico shows up for our massages. He comes every other day and sets up our tables out on the private strip of beach behind out bungalow in Santa Barbara.

After our massages we take a quick swim in the ocean and get ready for the day. Our guests (all our friends and family) arrive just before noon for the fun. After they all change into their bathing suits (they are all fit and look exactly the way they've always wanted to look in their bathing suits), we play volleyball, frisbee; all sorts of games on the beach. I've taken up painting and I'm really good so I set up my easle and do a beautiful rendition of our afternoon. I'm quite gifted. Nate has taken up surfing and goes out to show off his mad skills to our guests. He's so good at everything he tries (this is true).

While we've all been having fun, the caterers have been busily creating our fabulous lunch with fresh produce and salmon. We gather under the white canopies for shade and enjoy the food (which is fat free and delicious).

After lunch we relax in the sun, play more games, talk and laugh. Naps ensue. As the afternoon drifts away, and the sun melts into the horizon, we gather around the fire pit and watch the fresh crab and lobster cook in big pots. It smells heavenly. For dinner we sit on blankets among the light of several lanterns and enjoy the savory seafood. Nate plays some guitar and occasionally I accompany him on the harmonica.

Our guests prepare to leave and Nate and I hand out the gift bags to each of them. We like to do this to thank everyone for coming and spending time with us. In the bags are fabulous gifts. As the last one drives away, Nate and I go back into the house (which is all cleaned up) and watch "Out of Africa" in our living room. We've opened the door so we can hear the waves but the fireplace keeps the room perfectly temperate.

After the movie we decide to turn in. We've played hard and find ourselved pretty exhausted. We get into our perfect "spoon" position and as I drift to sleep Nate tells me how pretty I am and how much he loves me. I sleep and dream of our next red letter day.

The end.