Little Things
Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.
Okay, so I’ve become ever-so-slightly obsessed with pintrest (Thank you Suzanne, and Alisa-my beloved sisters. Keep pinning!). If you don’t know what pintrest is yet, well then, my only advice for you is to log in and start pinning…because I need new style ideas and I only have 200 crockpot ideas and could use one more.
Anyway, there is a quote that I found on there. It’s not a mind-bending quote, nor is it one that makes me tear up like the quote from Pride and Prejudice does. I’ve even heard the quote before, so it wasn’t even a surprise to read.
But it’s a quote that helps me. It helps little old-run-around-like-a-chicken-with-it’s-head-cut-off (which, by the way, is a pretty disgusting old saying. Maybe I could think of something different like “run-around-like-a-wind-up-toy?…hmmm, doesn’t have quite the ring to it.) Anyhoo, this quote helps little old run-around-like-fill-in-the-blank-here-me stop for a moment, sit back, and enjoy the little things.
The quote is: Enjoy the little things. Because one day you will look back on your life and realize they were the big things.
So here are my little things for today:
*the quiet creaking of the house and the gentle rhythm of my heart inside my chest just before I pop in Jillian Micheals Ripped in 30 and throw myself into a pool of painful squats and those oh-so-horrid plank-to-squat-to-plank thingys that I loathe but do anyway.
*When I eject that DVD
*Taking my dogs on a little walk. The early morning is so silent and the moon is still hanging in the sky, and then there is the delicious crunch of the snow underneath my boots (snow? you say. Yes, my dears. At 10,400 ft, rain in October turns to fluffy white flakes.)
*Gracie, Isaac, Ella, and Noah stumbling into the bathroom, hair wild, stretching, yawning, still groggy with sleep.
*Calling them down for breakfast. The pounding of their feet on the stairs and then watching them sit down together at the table my husband built and giggle to each other about inside jokes, or books, or the sound a balloon makes when you squeeze out the air.
*sipping coffee at the corner table in Starbucks. My manuscript pulled up on the screen and my headphones in playing instrumental music with the volume as high as I can get it.
*seeing my sister or my mom’s name pop up on my phone when it rings
*being greeted by wagging tales and joyful whines when I come home
*John popping home unexpected. “No, of course I wasn’t watching Pride and Prejudice again. Not with that load of laundry piled upstairs in the middle of our floor. Absolutely not.” His clunky boots and the high whistle he gives to let me know he’s there. The whistle I always give in return. And then when he leaves, pressing play on the DVD again
*seeing the kids run out of school and tackle me with a hug and a smile, coats flying, backpacks flailing, shoes untied. Noah always trying to trick me by sneaking around and standing behind me until I say “Where in the world is Noah?”
*the sound of their constant chatter on the way home from school telling me about this or that or what this person said or did.
*leaving soccer practice (notice I did not say, going to soccer practice. I love watching my kids play as much as the next person, but driving a half-hour to Silverthorne four days a week and not getting home until 7:30 can start to wear on a person)
*coming home to water boiling because John is such a sweetheart to come home and start it up (yes, because of said soccer practices, we have some form of pasta concoction 4 out of 7 times a week)
*watching the kids run around, bounce off the couches, ride the skateboard through the kitchen, and laugh with each other
*watching kids run around and scream with John (okay, this is a little bit of a point of contention since it’s always a teeny-bit counter-productive in my humble opinion to get four kids wound up right before bed, but I’ll sigh, clench my teeth, smile, and count it.)
*hanging out with John. Talking, watching a movie, or playing a game (unfortunately, last night was one of those depressing ‘let’s look at the money and how much we DON’T have’ nights…which does NOT fall under this category.)
*kissing the kids goodnight after they’ve fallen asleep, and finding Gracie still awake reading
*turning off the lights, snuggling in next to John, and drifting off to sleep.
And now, I pass the pen to you. It’s your turn to look at and enjoy the little things.