once upon a time there was the longest day in the history of long days. was it the summer equinox? oh no, no it was not. it was the
second day of august, 2009. there was not any time added to the day, it was the regular 24 hours. why, then did it seem to miss marie
to be the longest day in the history of long days? well, i'll tell you, if you promise to not have a day like miss marie had that one
day that was the longest day in the history of long days.
her alarm went off at half past six, like it normally does. however, but also not unusual, miss marie pressed the "snooze" button over
and over again until 7:03, whereupon she finally arose to get ready for the day. she took what seemed to be a long shower but when she
emerged wet and clean, it was only 7:07. "curious" thought she and continued on her way. after getting ready, a task that usually
requires a full 35 minutes, give or take, miss marie looked at the time and realized that it was only half past seven.
"i must be getting faster." she said aloud and continued on her way, after eating breakfast, reading an article, and preparing her
lunch, miss marie was ready to leave for work and it was only 7:50! she didn't need to leave for another fifteen minutes. miss marie
felt as though she had been awake for hours and wondered if her family had played a trick on her and changed the time but every clock
she faced and everyone she asked, the time seemed to be correct. finally, the clock revealed that it was time to leave and so miss
marie got in her car and went to work. even with the construction on many roads and being stuck at many stoplights, miss marie arrived
at work ten minutes early.
"what an odd day." was the only thing miss marie could think of to explain her morning thus far and so she continued on her way.
the morning seemed to drag on and on for miss marie. every hour seemed like three and by the time her morning break came along it
seemed to her that it was time to go home for the day. she waited at her desk for a phone call to come in, it was a rarety on this day.
the time between caused miss marie to feel herself age. finally miss marie's lunch hour came, she knew that this time would pass
quickly, as it usually did every day. but today, as she sat and ate her sandwhich, she kept looking at the clock, and every time she
did, only five minutes had passed. she finished her sandwhich with 40 minutes to go until she could return to her desk. sitting there,
staring out the window, miss marie almost felt as though she were in pain with the time stuck in molasses.
She finally returned to her desk and waited an eternity for a phone call. and then another for the next until finally her afternoon
break rolled around. during this break she went outside her office building to let out a long and loud scream, "aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrgh!
ok, i feel a little better." and then she continued on her way.understandably, miss marie was frustrated with the time today, what
could she have done to make it stick around for so long? what did she do to upset it so to drag his feet? after miss marie finally
returned to her desk, she hoped that the last two hours of her work day would change the pace from the rest of the day.
unfortunately for miss marie, it did not. with nothing to encourage time to go faster, miss marie was getting antsy. finally, an hour
passed and miss marie could hardly sit still. her voice became frantic, to the shocking of every client calling in.
at last, there was five minutes until miss marie could go home. tapping her desk, five taps to every second, she barely could contain
her anticipation. she continued to stare at the clock, daring it to slow down. the clock accepted every dare, on every minute, five
times. just as the clock turned its hands to 5:30, miss marie was out the door and in her car - a task that took her about five
minutes everyday, today only took about 30 seconds.
miss marie was speedily back at home. she soon found that she was done eating dinner at 6:30, an hour and half before she usually is.
she had no plans for the evening and so changed positions on her couch, attempting to discover the most comfortable one. at 7:00, miss
marie changed couches, and did the same activity. by 8:30, miss marie had sat in every position she could think of on every couch in
her home. she decided that she would try to go to bed even though it was an hour and a half earlier than she normally would retire.
miss marie brushed her teeth, washed her face, and brushed her hair and was laying in bed by 8:35, how she did all that activity in
five minutes, she'll never understand.
as miss marie lay in bed, she stared at the ceiling, willing her mind into unconsciousness; but to no avail. hours at the rate of days
passed by until miss marie's body and mind surrendered to slumber. even her dreams seemed to linger longer than normal this day.
she awoke to her alarm at half passed six the next morning, hoping against all hope that today would not be a single thing like
yesterday.
it seemed that everything today was more bright and more beautiful. her home was clean, the sun was bright, and the sky was the
loveliest shade of sky blue miss marie had ever seen. her shower water was the perfect temperature, the music on the radio was all her
favorites, and there was hardly any traffic on her way to work. As she walked into her office building, everyone greeted her with a
smile. she was able to help every client above and beyond and before she even knew it, it was time for lunch, which whizzed by as did
her afternoon. before she even found time to glance at the clock, it was time for miss marie to return home.
upon arriving home, she received a call from a dear old friend who was in town. they spent the evening together laughing and
remembering old times, and gazing at the phenomenal sunset on the horizon
miss marie went straight to bed when she got home, only regretting that she didn't have more time to admire the beauty of the day.
looking forward to another great day tomorrow, starting promptly and half past six, miss marie continued on her way.
the end.
i am an optimist
