The Little Things
Hello family and friends! Happy Thursday! Another day off and another day to reflect. Sometimes it’s difficult to sit with my thoughts and take the time to listen to them. It’s easy to lose sight of the small wonders of everyday life and to always think of the future, but today I wanted to reflect on the little things.
Before taking this time off from work, negativity and stress knocked on my door each morning eager to start my day. They occupied my mind, drank my coffee, and overworked my brain. After a long day of work, they would finally punch out only for exhaustion and anxiety to enter. They were very loud and obnoxious visitors who didn’t understand personal space or social queues.
I don’t want this to sound all doom and gloom, because positivity, appreciation, and love were working round the clock day and night. I was a bad manager. I kept promoting stress and anxiety which allowed them to grow stronger and believe that they were in control of my life.
It’s easy to get lost in a rain cloud when you keep chasing the storm and sometimes it takes a momentous event to direct your path towards the sun. Although, my momentous event broke my heart, change and acceptance mended it back together.
Life is precious, beautiful, and challenging. I want to be present and enjoy the little things life has to offer every single day.
Love
After my surgery, my mom flew out the next day to take care of me. My parents spent an arm and a leg on the tickets, but showed up anyway. I remember my mom arriving and immediately giving me a huge hug. There is no greater feeling that a mother’s love. It is endless, infinite, and unconditional. I melted into her and cried. She showed up when I needed her most. Words hold weight, but actions tell the truth.
Dinners are meant to be eaten with your family. Stories are meant to be shared over warm food and a glass of wine. Every evening before we sit down for dinner, my husband gives me a kiss and thanks me for cooking. Small gestures matter and leave the biggest of footprints.
My dad and I have our own language. When we call each other, we usually talk with an accent, speak gibberish, or make weird noises. To an outsider this may seem unusual, but to me it’s one of the best parts of picking up the phone. It shows me that my dad cares and it’s just fun. Love is expressed in many ways, but always feels the same.
Friendship
The best part about a sibling is that you have a built in friend for life. A friend who will play Barbie pirate ninjas with you until your fingers grow pruney from swimming too long. A friend who spied on the family dog with you until you both decided it was time to teach your stuffed animals about fairies. A friend who grows with you. A friend you get to see experience life for the first time. A friend may come in many forms, but the best kind of friend is family.
Rude by MAGIC! starts playing in the car on my way to the grocery and I am transported back in time. I am sitting next to seventeen year old Paige. She is wearing jean shorts, a tank-top, Rainbow sandals, and a bikini. Her hair is blowing out the window and she is laughing with her two best high school friends, Sam and Olivia. Sam is driving because she got her license first and has been designated driver ever since. You can smell the faint hint of the ocean out the window. All three girls are screaming “Why you got to be so rude?” Little did they know, this would be their last beach trip together before college. I look down at my phone as I pull into the grocery store parking lot and see a text from one of my favorite group chats with Sam and Olivia. We might be ten years older, but we all still have the same spirit when we get back together: playful, free, and happy. A good friend is hard to come by. Hold on to them and cherish them when you find one.
A Better Life
I could sit all day and write about the little things. These will be moments I remember when I am old with wrinkled skin and a bad hip, but they will have given me life and for that I will forever be grateful.
I hope you can find a little wonder in your day and put it in your pocket for safe keeping, because one day you might want to pull it out again.
Cheers to this Thursday and thanks for reading the Daily Paige!
