The Day I'd Choose

  While painting the set for The 39 Steps, I asked the rest of the cast a question I've always loved: If you died and could relive one day of your life over again, exactly as it was, which day would you choose? (for the record, I stole this question from the children's book, Belle Prater's Boy. I highly recommend it, lots of interesting themes going on there).

  I enjoyed listening to the answers: one person chose the day their daughter was born. Another, the day he and his girlfriend said "I love you". Another cast member chose a lazy day with their boyfriend, where they watched movies and played video games in bed all day.

  I realized as the answers went on that someone was probably going to ask me my day, and my brain blanked. I wanted it to be a day with McKay, but most days I only see him a few hours before bed, and while that little time with him is fun, I wanted a WHOLE day of awesomeness. There are quite a few of those with McKay, but like I said before, my brain was shorting out, and I couldn't think of anything. So when they asked me, I chose the day of my first dance.

  I was fourteen. I was pretty new to high school, but I'd made a bunch of new friends, as well as reunited with old ones (who were a year older than me). It was tradition that at a girl's first dance, the DJ would call out for volunteers for her first slow dance. A few boys fought over me, much to my astonishment. I danced to pretty much every song, and I hung out with all my friends. At that point in time, I had never felt more beautiful, or more confident.

  I realized after how petty and shallow my day sounded in comparison to everyone else's. And really, I didn't think that would be my day. It wasn't until I was telling McKay about it that I realized which day I should have chosen.

  I was eighteen, and I had come home to my apartment late. Very late. Taped to my door was a note to me, telling me to check my email. I smiled, guessing who it was from. My email revealed an encrypted message that I had to give a password for. When I guessed it correctly, it told me to go to a certain part of the parking lot that night at 8 PM. I thought about it all day giddily, enthused at my mysterious date. At the appointed time, I went where directed and found another note, telling me to go to another location. It went on like this for a while, finally directing me to a grocery store to buy juice.

  McKay met me there. He loves juice, and we wanted to buy some in celebration. He'd just gotten accepted for an internship he was really excited about. After, we watched a movie in a car he'd borrowed from a friend, and we kissed for the first time.

  When I told McKay (in present day) that I'd changed my mind and would chose our first kiss day, McKay said, "No fair! You stole mine!".

  We're cool like that.



  What would your day be?