I have always known that little things matter. Recently I’ve remembered that the little things often ARE the big things.
After a week spent vacationing in the Whalen House in Grand Haven MI, my mind replays lovely memories. There were gorgeous sunsets, incredible views of Lake Michigan, and the red light-house just across the road from our rented cottage. All glorious, ostensibly big things.
But what stands out two weeks later?
- Watching my eldest and his wife make soap bubbles with their nephews.
- Seeing the delight on my daughter’s face after she returns from geocaching with her boys.
- Sitting in the sand with my extended family, visiting while watching the grand kids build sand castles.
- Watching the love of my life, Steve, grill for the billionth time for his family (sometimes “mad skills” mean lots of work…)
- Photographing little items that might be fun to paint, like the tea cup covered with clover decorations that I discovered in the living room. It will please the Irish in my family so much!
- Visiting over wine and pie in the “man cave”, a little hut outside the main cottage.
Most of the things listed could happen anywhere. Often business encroaches on the important “little things”. Today I remind myself again to do better: listen more, send more notes, respond to emails more quickly, etc., because the little things really are the BIG things.
At the ripe age of 50, after 27 years in Texas raising our kids, the move to Concord, MA was difficult. No more close friends nearby who knew the song in my heart…. No more cozy places where my children grew up. Wonderful places like Zilker Park, McKinney Falls, the city of Austin, the state capital building, San Antonio Riverwalk and Zoo, the list goes on and on…..
Artful Passages 