Finding joy in the little things

When I was a little kid, I used to laugh at what made my mother happy. To my little brain, she seemed to take a lot of pleasure ― too much pleasure in fact ― in something as small as a hot cup of coffee or a snowy day or even crisp, clean laundry.

For example, she’d savior and relish the coffee like it was the best that she had ever tasted.  I teased her once on her simple ways, saying that I was sure that the Maxwell House coffee was “good to the last drop,” but couldn’t really be that good.

Another time, she took off from work to take me to a doctor’s appointment. When we came out of the small little office, she was absolutely ecstatic that the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. When I asked why she was so excited when it had been clear and sunny the previous five days, she scolded me for being ungrateful and small-minded.

But time has a way of changing us.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to see the value like she does in the little things. For example, I feel extremely grateful and happy right now. Did I win the lottery? Did I find out that a long-long lost family member had left me millions of dollars? No, I’m happy because:

• We’ve gotten great feedback from my sons’ teachers on their classwork and effort. They’ve worked their butts off and it was fun to see the boy’s teachers recognize their hard work in their first quarter teacher’s conferences.
• I was able to take off from work and pick-up my daughter from school.
• We were finally all under the same roof for the first time in weeks and able to enjoy a long, rambling family dinner.
• And yes my coffee was hot and tasted pretty good.

I guess my mom has rubbed off on me and I’ve come to appreciate the little things too.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.