The Small Stuff

The year is already going by so fast! Although I have to say, with the weather being so cold and snowy, there are days that linger. With all the time that we have had at home together because of the weather outside and with a "too close to home" and sad event that has happened to a family we know, I am thinking more about the small stuff.
There is a book, maybe even a series by now, that an individual has made his millions on called "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff", all about letting the little things that drive you crazy go so that you can really enjoy and appreciate the important things in life. I haven't read it, but I have to say that I think the opposite may be true. I have looked at the "small stuff" over the past couple of weeks as really the only things that are worthy of our attention. I totally get that you shouldn't worry so much about wether all the laundry is finished, or if the kitchen is sparkling by the time everyone turns in for the night, but there are other small things in our life that get passed by as well.
When Garett and I attended the funeral of our friends' 3 month old child I was trying to wrap my mind around why such things happen. It was then that I thought of the "small stuff" and I was jarred into a mind set that makes me want to grab a hold of the "small stuff"; my boys, my loved ones, my friends, the moments that make me laugh so hard I can't hold it, the feeling I get when I realize life is going by at warp speed, etc. I couldn't help but have selfish thoughts of how we are blessed to still have all of our "small stuff" and how important it is to just stop and soak it all up every chance we get.
So when we are just about to fall ill with cabin fever, I am reminding myself daily to take the opportunity to enjoy the "small stuff"; to not worry about things I have no control over, but instead try to enjoy each day for what it is and who it is spent with. I am by no means perfect, and I am sure I have already griped about "small stuff", but the "small stuff" is really what memories are made of and when I take the time life really is sweeter!

"Opportunity"

"We will open the book. It's pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and the first chapter is "New Years Day".

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Happy New Year....Welcome 2011!

With every year I am amazed at the number...I can remember going to my nephew's little junior high ball games and seeing the 2000 numbers on their Letterman's jackets and thinking to myself.."Whew...that is gonna be a long way away!" Well...here we are....2011 and I have a husband, two children, a "real" job and catch myself saying, just as my elders did, "Where does the time go?" Funny thing is though, I really don't feel as old as I am...like a twenty year old that never gets older. Garett and I look at others who are our same age sometimes and question, "Do we look that old?" None of our friends, of course, but you know how it happens..you meet someone new or see a couple in a restaurant and find out there age and "WHAM!", it hits you....reality!
This year I have hopes of opportunity! I wish for positive opportunities for all of my friends and family, as well as in our home. 2010 wasn't that bad really...I have to say I've been pretty fortunate in that I can't recall a really awful year. We have always had enough and our family's health has remained steady with scares, but all ended well.
I really wish for opportunities for personal growth. Despite my age I know there is more to learn about myself and others. Opportunities to be with and teach my children, spend time with my husband, and immediate family, things that I am holding more dear to my heart with every year. Opportunities to help others and stop myself before judging them. I understand that there may be some hard things to endure in the upcoming year and I am going to dig deep to look at those unknown events as an opportunity as well. I know I will need strength for that which leads to the fact that I need to take the opportunities I have to listen; listen to my loved ones, listen to my heart, listen to the Word I hear preached at church, listen to what others are asking of me. In the past I have done a lot of talking and that hasn't always proven successful..so I wanna be more ears and less mouth.
I want to embrace every day as an opportunity to do my best, be my best and give my best. I know this is an over the top resolution, but you gotta start somewhere, right? I've always heard to shoot for the moon, and hopefully you'll land somewhere among the stars..so I'm going for it!
In the words of Oprah, "Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right!"