One of my first ever girlfriends, Lauren, used to have this saying, a good day was one that was covered in glow. Now 15 year old me thought this was one of the most stupidest things he'd ever heard but now I can look back on certain days in my life and yes they very much are covered in glow. They give you that warm nostalgic feeling that makes you smile when you think about what went on that day, when you close your eyes remembering just how much fun you had wishing you could relive it.
Days like when at the tender age of 13 my parents decided that I was allowed to do away trips with Boston United on my own with my friends. The subsequent trip to the football hotbed that is Halesowen is a day that will forever live in my head, the five of us jumping onto the coach and claiming the back seat, stopping off at the services on the way and loading on so much sugar it was unreal. The game really was an afterthought, though we did win and I still remember getting a high five from Joby Gowshall as he came off the pitch.
Days like James's 21st birthday when 20 plus of us descended on his house in London then proceeded to the dog track at Walthamstow, winning a small fortune on the immortal Blonde Chick, then blowing the lot on the alcohol during the trip into central London. The night bus ride and subsequent walk back to his became the stuff of legend in our group of friends. Getting asked to leave McDonalds in Leicester Square was a particular highlight, as was the car crash I was involved with the next day when travelling back to Luton after saying I'd go back with the safest driver in the group.
Days like the beach party in The Park during possibly the coldest November that I can remember, I skived off work and ended up having what could arguably be the best night in there, and trust me I had a lot of nights in there during my time down there. The highlight was me doing a Klinsmann dive into a paddling pool wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. Yes it was stupid to do this in November but oh my god what fun!
Now Lauren might be long gone but why have her words come back to me? Well I suddenly had the realisation that recently I've had so many days covered in glow that I look back on that bring a smile to my face. Trips to the theatre with Emma and our non stop chats about anything and everything. Reunions with Ash and Alf getting drunk and making late night / early morning calls to the twins in Australia. A proper old school drinking session with Kev and Scott and making new friends in Ellie and Claire. My first proper game at the new Spurs ground with James (even with missing the first 15 minutes of the match because of the idiot stewards)
I'm not saying that I didn't have great days or memories when I was with my ex, far from it, but what's making these ones extra special is that I'm doing it for myself. I'm doing things I want to do with people that I love spending time with. Some of the things that I was interested in didn't appeal to her and I felt a little guilty about dragging her round places that she had no interest in. She didn't share my enthusiasm for some things that I hold dear and I'm sure she sat through more than one rant of mine about something or other with gritted teeth.
I've got so many things planned, next up is a trip to Cambridge and a meet up with Emma, with a reunion with Charlene on the horizon as well. A trip to Poland is already booked in, Dublin is in the works as is Budapest and Rome. I've got a couple of solo trips to Sutton Hoo and Stonehenge in the pipeline as well to cross a couple more things off my list.
So here's to Lauren and her idea of glow, and here's to having many more days covered in the stuff in the future.
Add comment
Comments