The Little Things In Life

It truly is the little things in life that make it worth living.  When I take a moment to sit back and relax my subconscious reminds me of this.

The little things I've been grateful for this week:

• Healthy Children-My daughter started feeling sick the other day all of a sudden.  Often times we live in the moment and forget to cherish the moments our children are healthy.  It all started with a sore throat when we were in Target. By time we got home she also had a headache and her skin was flush.  She ended up with a fever that jumped between 100-103 the rest of the day and into the next morning.  Thank goodness for Motrin.  It kept knocking it down.  Poor baby was up from 2 a.m. until 5:30 a.m. because she was feverish and couldn't sleep.  We snuggled together in her bottom bunk and I let her play with my phone.  Eventually the meds took hold again and she was finally able to fall asleep.

• Thoughtful small gifts-My husband knew what a rough day I was having.  Between Little Bee being sick and Goalieboy almost closing the van door on his ankle it was a long night.  When he left his second job at 10 p.m. he picked up a bouquet of flowers on the way out for me.  He said they were just "because".  So sweet.  It meant the world to me because there was no special occasion and it wasn't an "I was a jerk, I'm sorry" gift.  It blew me away. Bright, golden sunflowers to brighten my day.  I would post a picture of them but the poor things are fading away quickly.  It's the thought that counts and I'm beaming with happiness just thinking about it.

• Brother and Sister Moments-The bond between my kids when they sit back and just enjoy being with each other.  It's amazing.  My heart sings during those moments.  I love when they are being considerate of one another and respecting each other.  Those two things are so hard to teach.  They sat side by side enjoying the rare luxury of being on the computer and playing Club Penguin.  I limit computer time so it's definitely a treat here.  Many a times they'll fuss and fight over it, not wanting to share.  This time, they chatted and took turns all the while being patient with the one who was playing.  That truly deserves gold medal status.

• Helpful Hands-I love when they willingly help me out without much argument.  They've been rinsing dishes and loading them into the dishwasher without many reminders.  Goalieboy has taken on the task of cleaning up the litter boxes and wanting no help from Little Bee. I do need to prod him a bit but he does it without any grief.   He's also been taking feeding the cats more seriously.  We had a long talk about forgetting to feed them and how he would feel to be hungry and thirsty and having no way of getting food and water.  I think it finally clicked.  Setting the light bulb off in understanding, I'm slowly learning, is all in the correct approach.  What works for one child does not always work for another.

These are just a few "Little Things" in my life that I am appreciative about right now.  I'm working on not taking them for granted.  In our hectic lives I think many of us do just that.

What are some of your Little Things?