A Love Letter to Ordinary Days

We are always waiting. For the holidays, for the promotion or raise, for the next big thing, for the weekend (TGIF!). The life that we want is always out there; slightly within reach for some of us and further away for others. This human peculiarity – constant romanticizing of the future is quite worrisome to me. We spend so much time anticipating the future.

Me at the office, November, 2026

I frankly wonder… what if some of the happiest moments of our lives aren’t going to announce themselves?

What if our ordinary days aren’t interruptions to the fabulous lives we’re all waiting for? Because I know that some of my best days started with an uneventful morning. I can give a lot of examples: cooking in my kitchen while listening to Enya, having my cornrows done by my sister who would rather be on TikTok, talking with my Dad on Sundays or Thursdays, listening to Maggie ramble on to her man over the phone, messaging my boyfriend to complain about, well, everything, watching Instagram reels reshared by my Mom, calling Agatha (my second mother) to apologize for forgetting to inform her that I had arrived at a destination safely while her husband in the background says, “Gemma will still do whatever is on her mind!”  

Just basic ordinary life, no announcements, no fireworks. And somehow, that is enough.

I wonder how many blessings I have never acknowledged simply because they didn’t look like blessings. How many gifts I didn’t notice because they didn’t come in a box with a pretty bow. How many mornings I woke up without gratitude, how many meals I’ve eaten without second thought. 

My life doesn’t need to look different for me to appreciate it. I will not postpone my happiness till life is perfect (it never will be).

I will find joy in the mundane everyday tasks.

I will acknowledge my many blessings.

I will enjoy the people that make ordinary life beautiful.

I invite you to do that as well.

Xoxo,

Gem