“Practise yourself, for heaven’s sake, in little things and thence proceed to greater.” By Epictetus
“The little things are most worthwhile–quiet word, a look, a smile.” by Margaret Lindsey
“And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” By Kahlil Gibran
I can’t say enough about the little things of life meaning so much in our daily relationships with others. A grand example is the fact that if I ever leave my husband without giving him a kiss RIGHT BEFORE I walk out the door without him, he will be one the phone with me within seconds of me leaving the driveway wondering where his kiss was. Even if I just gave him a kiss two minutes before walking out the door. We don’t go very many hours without talking to each other unless we have absolutely no choice in the matter. (Yes, it drives people around us crazy to see it, but after 18 years of knowing each other we still have a bond that makes it hard for us to be apart for extended periods of time.) To me, it’s just a part of our relationship and how we continue to stay close. Our phone calls may be extremely short, but it’s just enough to keep the sparks alive.
People who are completely healthy take for granted their ability to go and do things as they wish because they don’t think that they’ll ever be knocked on their behinds. (I know I did! I use to drive my vecihle over 100 miles an hour ALL the time. It got so bad the local cops quit pulling me over.) However, after my last car accident in 2006, I definitely respect a vechile and what it is not MADE to do on a regular bases. Now I cringe at going above 80 miles an hour, I have been known to creep above it, but when I see it I quickly bring it back down. I crushed my right ankle to the point that when the doctor did my surgery he told me I’d never walk again. I told him he was wrong! After my surgery, he told me that if I was lucky I’d be able to hobble after six months. I was not happy with my current life at that time at all. I HAD to get back to work to support myself and my daughter. (Even though, I had the offer of doing something else drastic at that time too, I wasn’t prepared to make that leap of faith fully.) However, after two months of my surgery, the doctor looked at my x-ray’s and couldn’t believe the results. I told him I could stand on my foot too, and that I felt I could walk too. He made me walk to his office and back to the room we were in, and I did it even though I looked and felt totally funny. It was enough to get me the release to go back to work for light duty. My left middle finger is still unusable to the full extent, but it got stronger and I can use it enough to function with. However, that did back fire on me a good bit not even three years later because my ankle got so weak from to much labor at one time that I couldn’t stand or walk hardly at all. I was literally dragging my leg along to get my job done. After about a month of me not being able to stand the pain and heartache, Del had enough, and literally made me quit because my job at the time couldn’t really afford to accommodate me anymore than I could stand the humiliation. Yes, I said humiliation! I still have the desire to be one of the strongest and hardest worker on any crew, and I will push myself to the max to see that I do everything I can to help our team succeed.
After being able to stay home with all of my men (since Del works from home and goes to college online too) for the past two years, I’m eager to return to work. However, I am going to miss all of the little things that I get to do throughout my day now. I can literally lounge around with my kids or I can jump up and take them to the local parks and go for a nature walk. I get to see them play all day long and have them getting on my LAST nerve. I even cherish those moments (that tends to happen when you lose a kid.) I have a bond with my youngest son that I never got to have with any other child. I know that nothing will break that bond we now have.
Speaking of my youngest child, HE’S COMPLETELY POTTY TRAINED!!! 🙂 It took long enough for that to happen, but it finally did. 🙂 It’s so nice not to have to change his little behind anymore. It also gives us an extra $50.00 a month. Of course, part of the deal is he gets a movie every week. Thank goodness for Redbox codes every Monday, so he gets his movie FREE! 🙂
That brings up another little thing that has become an active part of my life. COUPONS!! FREEBIES! SAMPLES!! Earning money for surveys or points towards gift cards! Oh this is a major small thing that truly adds up to a lot of savings! The Extreme Couponing show really is legit, but I won’t go to that extremes on getting coupons. I’m only out to save a little bit of money until I get use to fully using coupons, and then I MAY turn into an EXTREME COUPONER! I have a wonderful husband who can build me storage sheds within two days. 🙂 I woke up early this morning and ran to get my newspapers and spent $8.00, and let me tell you the savings that are in those papers. I’m going to find out how much it’s going to cost to get newspapers sent every Sunday to our house!!
Pictures are another little thing. People don’t realize how important pictures are until you start missing someone who isn’t around anymore. It’s so nice to be able to look through pictures and just see their face with their smiles. It just puts an ease to the sense of loss. I miss my mom a lot lately, and that’s because everything is finally coming to a close. I thought I was ready to let go of everything, but now that it’s actually happening it’s heart wrenching. However, I know it needs to happen because I can’t keep everything. Life does have to continue to go on! I can’t live in two houses (of course, I have no desire to live in her house, but I do love the land and the neighborhoods and the neighbors!!)
I love how I get woke up by my kids and my puppy and my husband in all of their unique little ways. I love to see my kids laugh and have a good time. I get tickled when Del starts laughing. I love a good sunset (which I have an amazing view sitting on my front porch everyday.) I treasure the fact that I can walk and even half-way jog now. I will forever cherish being able to fully tend to myself completely as long as I live. I’m grateful that God always provides me with everything I need when I need it even before I know it. I treasure the fact that I have been blessed enough to reconnect with friends that I have lost contact with for so long.
Life is so full of so MANY little things that so many of us forget to truly appreciate them. I hope today you can see all the little things that made your day grand, even if your having the most horrible day alive. 🙂
