One year already?

It's the little things.

One year ago, I decided to stop and smell the flowers.  I decided to try something new.  I decided to take something that I enjoy doing and share it, just a little.  At the time I had no idea how much fun I would have or how many people would join me in my journey.  The added bonus, of course, is that I'm creating a written history for our family.

At the heart of it I know who I am as a person - I'm a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a neighbour.  I try to give the best of who I am to everyone around me.  Some days I'm a little more successful than others.  There are days though, when I beat myself up - my to do's aren't done, I didn't make that phone call, I should have exercised, and dinner is a boxed pizza.

But the beauty of my blog is that I'm taking time to see things in a new way.  A way that makes me feel a little less guilty because I am able to see what I've created in the world around me.  I've got a clearer view of what's really important.

I'm always looking for little things to photograph - the wide open sky, red rosy faces, cartwheels, sleepy heads - and things to write about.  Amid the chaos of each day are the little moments that fill those spaces between the hours, the minutes, and even the seconds.  Before now I was missing those moments.  I never even thought about looking for them.  I lived my days putting one foot in front of the other with my eye on the prize:  getting through the day.  Now my eyes are open wider, watching out for the small stuff.  The stuff that takes a good life and makes it great.  More complete.

And so, Friday morning, at the crack of dawn while I was buzzing around getting ready for work, my boy saw my coffee sitting, freshly brewed on the counter, and he added my cream and sugar.  He put the lid on and put it on the table beside my purse.  A year ago I would have grabbed my stuff, given a hasty 'thanks' and run out the door.  This time though, I recognized his kindness.  I recognized that he made a choice to take seconds out of his morning to do something for me, without being asked.  I recognized that I needed to stop and truly acknowledge how grateful that I was for him.  And then I did something that I don't usually do.  I recognized that I made that boy.  That Peter and I are good parents and we deserve a pat on the back.  We're doing okay.

One year after taking my blogging leap, I'm feeling grateful.  Grateful to have a creative outlet.  Grateful to have family and friends that lift me up with their words of support and praise for the stories that I share.  And grateful to have readers that I don't even know about (because every time I discover one of you I feel like a giddy kid who got a gold star from the teacher!)

It's the little things.  I highly recommend looking for them in your life.