It wasn't your average skydiving/peak-conquering best day.
It wasn't anywhere exotic and it wasn't a date I can remember.
It does, however, stand out as the day that shaped the way I will view the world forever.
It was really your average childhood memory - a weekend at Bucklands Crossing.
I might have been 8, I might have been 10; it has a hazy glow to it, but the lesson was vivid.
We climbed a hill in the sunshine; over rocks with lizards and grasshoppers.
When we reached the top, we lay down in the tussock, enjoying the sun and our sleepy-full tummies.
We looked to the sky and felt the dry tussock scratchy on our bare arms and legs.
We were happy out of our city home.
Mum asks us a question: "What can you see?"
We answer tussocks, clouds and birds.
She asks again: "Look harder and describe it with all the words you can muster. It's not just tussock."
We looked and we looked and we started to see.
The cicadas sang, the river hummed, and the dirt baked.
Thousands of words were possible to describe the simple, usual world we walk.
Our eyes can be as open or as closed to this as we choose them to be.
This day shaped the way I am. I thank my mother for that day.
At school, I went on to do well in art, English and science.
I take things in by observing the detail, interaction and beauty.
I think most others do, too, but then again, I once received a school report in science that simply stated: "96%. Gretchen does not concentrate in class and instead spends a great deal of time staring out the window at the sky."
• Gretchen Robertson is an Otago Regional councillor.
• If you would like to share your "Best day of my life except for ..." story with ODT readers, please email mark.price@odt.co.nz for details.
