The Little Things

We've all heard the phrase "it's the little things that count." Today seemed to be one of those days that really pointed out the value in that statement.

On my way to Words for the Journey, a writing group I belong to, I called That Man to see where he was working. Usually, I go out to lunch with the folks afterward so we can chat, but I had to go into work to call the IRS on behalf of one of my clients, and today was the only day I could fit it in. I figured if That Man was working anywhere on my way to work, I'd stop and have lunch with him. As luck would have it, timing was perfect for us to meet on my way to work and his way to another jobsite. The cool thing was hearing the happiness in his voice when I proposed the idea. You wouldn't think having lunch with your spouse was a big deal, and yet, it meant the world to him.

I've been thinking about it off and on all day, not so much the fact that I'm a wonderful wife for taking time out of my busy day to have lunch with my husband. But the fact that oftentimes, we can make such a difference in a person's life with little things, and yet we put it off because we think it's too small to matter. We're waiting for the opportunity to do a big thing.

There's a lot of things I'm procrastinating on right now. People I want to see, talk to, write to, whatever... and I keep thinking, well, I don't have time to do it properly. So I'll just wait until I do. I didn't have time to have a proper lunch with That Man, just a quick bite, kiss kiss, and away we went. But he was so thankful that I'd taken even that small amount of time, rather than us each going our separate ways through a convenient drive through, finding a moment to be together.

I think about those moments with my kids. How often we're too busy to do this or that, and we think we're saving up time to do the big thing that'll impact them forever. And you know, I don't think those moments really matter to them. I certainly don't remember those big things from my parents. I'm sure they did them. I'm sure they spent countless hours planning and more money than they probably could have afforded. But what I remember is sitting on the back porch with my dad, drinking coffee and chatting about life. Playing cards in the kitchen with my grandma. Tasting the sauce to make sure it was "just right." Mundane things. Moments they chose to invest in my life to show that I mattered to them.

What are the moments passing you by? Is there a little thing you could do in someone else's life right now? Maybe it seems small to you, but maybe it means the world to them. It's something I'll definitely be focusing more on in the future.