It's the Little Things

Thanksgiving is done and the vacation is over.  The kids are back in school and my husband is at work.  I am doing laundry and getting groceries as I do on most Monday mornings.  The quietness of today is in stark contrast to this past week.  It has me thinking about all the memories we made while the kids were on break and my husband was off for the holiday.  There was nothing out of the ordinary about this Thanksgiving but I am filled with gratitude as I think about it.  The joy of this last week was found in the little things. 

The chickens were thankful for the pumpkins.

As with every other year, we went to 2 Thanksgiving dinners.  And, maybe it’s because I am getting older, but each year seems to get better.  I thoroughly enjoyed the time we got to spend with family.  The kids are getting older and run off to go play instead of clinging to our legs in shyness.

Decorating the tree is a family favorite!

What really brings those warm fuzzies to my heart has to do with what we did at home with the kids.  It’s the time we spent doing menial tasks.  There was nothing spectacular.  In fact the kids seemed to be having "communication failure" with each other which leads to many "teaching opportunities" (i.e. tattling and fighting and all those things you normally say to your kids to try to help them get along).  Despite the challenges of parenting 3 young sleep deprived, schedule changed kids there are still so many moments that shine through my memories and tip the scales easily to the happy side.

The day after Thanksgiving we put up Christmas lights on the house.  It was a beautiful day, fairly warm and sunshiny.  I love that we decorate the house for Christmas.  Not only is it pretty when we get done but I have a reason to get on the roof during the process!  I know that’s not the most exciting thing to do but it is fun to look around from a different perspective than ground level.  And we didn’t want to deprive the kids of this fun so we let them climb the ladder and have a look around too!  One-by-one I walked them to the peak of the roof and even to the edge so they could look straight down.  As they got more confident and they proved to be careful (walking slowly and not by the edge) I let them walk around a little on their own.  My husband took time from clipping lights on the roof to share in this memory too.  We could have made them stay on the ground for fear of their safety or simply because it took extra time and energy to teach them how to maneuver the roof without falling off, but then we wouldn’t have seen the joy and excitement on their faces from the experience. 

Another simple yet meaningful task we undertook was rearranging the kids’ rooms.  You would have thought we bought them the biggest and best toy or took them to the most amazing place.  They were so excited about something so simple.  The boys had been sleeping on bunk beds and were ready for a change.  We took the top bunk bed off and now they both have a whole new outlook.   My daughter didn’t want to be left out, so we moved her bed away from the wall and rearranged the nightstand and dresser to give her a whole new feel.  Hanging a strand of their very own Christmas lights in their rooms was icing on the cake!  

Lastly, I don’t want to discount the time spent together.  Not only were we fulfilling a task, but we were spending time together in the above examples.  Something as simple as sitting down with my daughter to make beaded bracelets meant more to her than just about anything this week.  Did I feel like taking the time to string beads…a task that seemed meaningless or time consuming?  Not really.  I forced myself to stop and spend time with her and I am so glad I did.  She will only be little once.  I believe changing my priorities in this instance was the best decision ever!

My Take-Aways:

1. Joy is found in the simplicity of a moment.
2. Kids are easily entertained.  With safety in mind, allow them to explore new things and experience life in ways that are different from their norm.
3. Never underestimate the time you spend with your family.  That is when memories are made.