Easter with My Grandson: The Best Day Ever

On this episode of Our American Stories, our next story comes to us from a listener, Paul Bauer—a regular contributor out of the Great White North, Minneapolis, MN. Here’s Paul with a story about a very special Easter Day he had with his grandson. He’s titled it, “The Best Day Ever!”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories. Our next story
comes to us from a listener, Paul Bauer, a regular
contributor out of the Great White North, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here's
Paul with a story about a very special Easter Day
he had with his grandson. He's titled it the Best

(00:30):
Day Ever.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
On an Easter Sunday morning, my grandson Own got me
thinking about what makes a day be a good day,
or more specifically, what makes a day be the best
day ever. Own was at our house that Easter when
he was about five years old. He was outside in
our backyard in the middle of his annual Easter egg hunt.
As he was running back and forth all over the
yard finding the hidden treats and loading up his Easter basket,

(00:58):
he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Owen looked up at
me with his big brown eyes, showed me his overflowing basket,
and blurted out as loud as he could, Papa, this
is the best day ever. It was adorable, and his
excitement in turn made that Easter morning a pretty good
day for me as well. After the Easter celebration was

(01:18):
over and Owen went home for the night, I thought
about those precious words, Owen exclaimed, the best day ever.
That's a pretty bold statement coming straight from his heart.
Since Owen just had his best day ever, I began
to wonder what about me? What was my best day?
I found myself having a hard time coming up with
an answer. For some reason, I started recalling some of

(01:40):
my bad days. Seemed much easier to battle those off.
The Christmas morning when I didn't get the new pair
of hockey skates I wanted, or the day I got
teased and picked on in school for wearing hand me
down clothes. Why was I thinking of these rather than
my good days? Then it hit me, I need to
think like a child does. The innocence and excitement children
had can make any d be the best day ever.

(02:02):
With that mindset, it became easy for me to think
of great days I've had. I recalled my freshman year
in college, a day that started out bad for me.
I just got cut from the college hockey team. I
called my best friend to let him know my bad news,
and he proceeded to tell me it was okay. It
doesn't change a thing. He's still going to be my
friend regardless of what hockey team I'm on. He had

(02:25):
no trouble turning what was a bad day into a
very good day for me. I have many examples of
bad days turning out for the best. Another such day
was when I graduated from college and it started my
first full time job at EDS in Dallas, Texas. I
was alone and on my own, but eager to start
my first career. I was excited to start climbing the

(02:45):
corporate ladder. EDS required their staff to dress up in
the office back then, and even though I arrived in
the Texas Heaton that June with very little to my name,
I was indeed primed to dress for success. Spending the
last few of my dollars on my new prize pass
essions three brand new pairs of flax along with three
short sleeve dress shirts and three freshly pressed ties. I

(03:07):
was ready for the big time. However, my first day
in the office became a bad day for me because
I learned the hard way the dress code at EDS
doesn't allow for short sleeve shirts. That seemed odd to
me having to wear long sleeve shirts in the middle
of summer in Dallas, Texas, but my boss made it
clear to me, this young punk out of college can't

(03:27):
come to the office dressed like this. He made me
keep my sport quote on all day long, hiding my
uncalled for short sleeve shirts. I was in a bind.
Fresh out of college, I didn't have any money to
buy new clothes. I was counting on using my first
real paycheck for this. That evening, after my first day
in the job, I called my parents and explained my
dilemma to them. They must have then told my oldest brother, Tom,

(03:52):
because before the week was over, I had received a
check on the mail from Tom so that I could
buy myself some long sleeve shirts. My big brother, without
any prodding from me, just turned my bad day into
a great day. I know this was no small sacrifice
for Tom because he was just starting a family of
his own, with three young boys in their house at
the time. I know Tom didn't have any spare money,

(04:14):
but that didn't stop him from finding a way to
help out his younger brother. Not only did Tom change
that day in Texas from bad to one of my best,
but he also taught me an important lesson that has
stuck with me ever since. Tom taught me the importance
of family, and he taught me how to share and
help others without expecting anything in return. My new best
day ever at the time has turned into much more,

(04:35):
and I tried to pay it forward and live by
my brother Tom's example to this day. In doing so,
hopefully I can brighten the days of others, and maybe,
if I'm lucky, my kindness might even help someone else
have their best day ever too. My five year old
grandson Owen and his Eastern morning best day ever also
taught me to look at things differently. The more I

(04:55):
thought about it, I realized that oftentimes what can make
a difference between a bad day and a great day
his perspective. Take for example, a day of fishing with
my son Tim. There have been days where we have
caught nothing, very little. Is that a bad day? Not
a chance? Those are the best days ever, as we
were together in the boat, spending time together with our
thoughts and our feelings to share. Or how about the

(05:18):
day I was taking my daughter on vacation to Colorado
to spend a week hiking in the mountains. Our morning
flight got canceled and there were no others until late
that evenings. Well, this was the start of a bad day.
We took matters into our own hands rather than waiting
around at the airport all day, we decided to skip
flying and take a road trip instead. Driving the thirteen hours,

(05:38):
we had much more fun in the car than we
would have about the airport, spending quality time together and
laughing along the way. We even managed to put together
a playlist for the radio of songs that we both
could agree to. It became a road trip we'll never forget.
Another example of my best day ever. I'm recalling these
fond memories and best days thanks to my my grandson

(06:00):
Owen and his simple but powerful words. Along with remembering
the good days, Owen and his words have also stuck
with me since and have helped me keep my days
in perspective. My young grandson, Owen, without even realizing it,
taught me to work hard at making all my days
be like his and be my best day's ever. Of course,

(06:21):
since one of my hobbies is to write poems, I
couldn't let Owen's profound words go by without a corresponding
poem inspired by Owen on that Easter morning, so I
did write a poem about best days, and I'd like
to share it now. It's appropriately titled The Best Day Ever,
and it goes like this. This is the best day ever,

(06:41):
my grandson said to me while he was hunting for
his Easter eggs, And I thought, how can that be?
How is it that a child can be so innocent
and free? As I thought about it further, I thought
that should be me. Why can't today be my best day?
Why do I always expect more? I've got it all
right at my finger tips? What am I looking for?

(07:03):
I get caught up in the daily grind, bills to pay, in,
chores to do. But to day should be my best day,
for I'm spending it with you. As a child, my
best day ever was the day I got a strike.
A few years later, I had topped it on the
day I got my bike. I grew some more, scored
a winning goal. That became my best day yet. But

(07:26):
even that was passed in high school. The day you,
my best friend, and I met. The days each of
my kids were born were the best I ever had.
That followed with day after day where I was the
proudest dad. But lately I've been in a rut. Are
all my best days through? There must be more that
lie ahead, for I have much more to do. I

(07:48):
will on complicate my life a bit look at life
a whole new way, just like a child. I'll be happy.
My new best day will be to day to day.
My granddaughter giggled at me. I'll remember that smile forever.
Her big brother just said he loves her. Today is
not my best day ever. I'll start thinking what my

(08:09):
grandson does. Innocence will open doors. I'll make today be
my best day, and I'll help you to make it yours.

Speaker 1 (08:19):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler, and a special thanks to
Paul Bauer for sharing his story and his grandson's perspective
on what constitutes a best day ever. Mine was simple.
When it was a summer in nineteen seventy six. I
was away at a basketball camp in Monticello, New York,

(08:39):
and I was anxious, and I was worried, and I
was young when I was a good ballplayer, and my
dad just said be yourself on a phone call. Coach
Luke Carniseca was walking by, the legendary coach at Saint
John's back when Saint John's was a collegiate power, and
I was sitting there just taking jump shots from the
dead corner. One in a row, two in a row.
Coach stops and goes, son, five dollars if you make

(09:01):
one more. I made nine in a row, the best
day of my life. Only a few people saw it,
but Coach Carniescas said, looked me up in a couple
of years, Son, But I never grew past five foot ten.
That was as tall as I got. The story of
the best day ever. Sometimes they start off as bad
days here on our American stories.