What day is this?

This is the question my son asked me today when I called him at 9:00 am our time, 6:00 pm Italian time. He was navigating from the passenger seat of their Italian Fiat rental car while his brother was driving them. They had camped the night before in Pompeii, visited the amazing ancient city and had spent the day, Friday, traveling along the Amalfi Coast of Italy. At the time I talked to him, they were about to stop at a store to load up on snacks, drinks etc and head on down another coastal highway towards the tip of Italy, spend some time hopefully on some non-tourist beaches and ultimately catch a ferry over to Sardinia.

After I got their assurances that they were successfully avoiding trouble with the crazy Italian drivers they were heading away from cell phone coverage so I told them both I love them and hung up the phone. As the day went on, that question kept hitting me.

Now, anyone and everyone who has to work 40 hour or more work weeks understands the significance of Friday. Of all the days of the week, we would never not know when it was Friday, excuse the double negative. So that got me thinking about two young men just a couple of weeks away from entering that real world of looking for, finding and keeping one of those 40 hour a week or more jobs. Those two young men who have opportunities more than most to experience life in many different ways, places and times separately, are now having unforgettable days together. Right now it is the coast of Italy, after London and Romania. It's not so much the place that matters but the times they have wherever they are. I can just see them driving along in some little rental car, radio blasting whatever they can pick up, not understanding the words but surely absorbing the meaning of it all. The conversations will go full circle I'm sure from the past, to the present an on into the future.

What thrills me the most is that they are able to have the present. Both have had their ups and downs in the past. The future is sure to hold lots of stress in job hunting, paying bills, finding and keeping relationships and simply not knowing. But now, in the present, they are so worry free that they don't know and likely don't care what day it is. I can see their beautiful smiles, enjoying life and that makes me happy.

What day is this? As cliche as it sounds, this is the beginning of the rest of their lives and they are off to a great start!