Perspective

Once again, I am reminded to look at my life and days from the outside, looking in ....

Yesterday, a friend dropped in for a surprise visit. She adores children and you could see her reaction to the kids. And their reaction to her. It was immediate and spontaneous. There was an immediate connection.

As I was putting the younger ones down for a nap, I heard one of the 3 yr olds start to tell his tale about a monster being under his bed and he ''screamed like a girl.'' This is a tired little tale that he tells at least 3 times a week at the lunch table. Then it goes around the table and each of the kids have to 'one-up' him on his story. It goes round and round and round and in the end, they are all 'screaming like a girl.'

I've heard the story so many times (and the emphasis seems to be on the ''screaming like a girl'' as the tale gets told and retold), that I basically tune it out now.

Well. My friend laughed and laughed. As a newcomer to the tale, it is sweet. And the little guy who tells the tale is adorable. I think he could make any story a good one, just by being the little person he is.

And I was reminded, once again of the gifts I am surrounded with all day, every day. In my tunnel vision of getting through the various chores, routines, responsibilities, schedules and basically keeping things running on track around here, I miss 'the small stuff'.

It is good to be reminded of the small blessings that surround us every day. Sometimes we are so accustomed to what we have, we forget to appreciate the little moments.

In the end, it is those special little moments that are everything.