It’s The Little Things

It’s The Little Things

Belinda @ Kids Matter

When we are young we look at life in a completely different manner than when we get older. During those impressionable youth years we impatiently await the ‘grand events’ in our lives. A preschooler thinks kindergarten is the greatest thing since sliced cheese while the kindergartner thinks the first grader rocks and the ‘big kid’ on the bus is merely a fifth grader idolizing a middle schooler. As our children grow and leave the nest, we parents tend to remember the small things, the little things that light us from within.

One Mother’s Day, many years ago, I came home from work exhausted. The kids seemed super energetic that day, for some unknown reason, but isn’t that always the case when the parent is exhausted? They were flittering around the living room anxiously describing that day’s events to me. One of my sons was having a really hard time waiting for his turn because he had something so special to give me. It was something he had made at school for me in honor of Mother’s Day. He clasped the construction paper firmly against himself as he jumped up and down with excitement. “I made this for you, Mommy,” he smiled as he turned the card around. It was a beautiful card with butterflies all over it. All the children turned at once to read the oversized card. Suddenly, everyone burst out laughing except the son who made the card. He stood with the look of confusion on his face. The kids turned to look at my reaction and there I sat with big eyes and an open mouth. The sound of laughter filled the house. My son wanted to know why everyone was laughing.  He didn’t understand at all. He shouted, “It’s not funny! I made this for Mommy!” I then asked him what it said and he told me. Unfortunately what he thought he had written in his little second grade hand writing was not at all what he wrote. The pretty card covered in butterflies simply read, “I love you Mommy! You’re as beautiful as a butt fly!”

That is a moment I have cherished for so many years. The sound of laughter in my home filled my heart. It was the smiles on my children’s faces and the unity of family that settled deep within my memory for me to recall years later as my children went their own ways. There were many smiles and many memories created through a house full of children. Life wasn’t always grand and, as children do, there was lots of bickering but we can choose how we reflect on our life. We can seek out the positive and remember the smiles and laughter, or we can forget that happiness ever crossed our path and focus solely on the sadness. The reality of family life is that there are good times and there are bad times. Choosing to acknowledge the good times and forgiving the bad times can only improve your quality of life, for a happy heart inspires a peaceful soul.