Little Details of Happiness…

Happy Wednesday!

How’s everyone?

I am trying to find the little things in each day to be thankful for….I have written about this many times in this space. I have books, journals, and social media. I think many of us are using these very things to navigate life now, right?

I think, I have always been this way…or maybe for so long now that it’s difficult to remember a time when I was so twisted inside of myself that I couldn’t be thankful for something.

What I have come to realize more and more is that I am mostly thankful for the same types of things everyday. I feel like I am such a basic person. My needs are simple. Or maybe it’s the everyday blessings that I really care about. Sometimes, I think to myself that it doesn’t seem like I should be writing those things down because they don’t seem very important. But aren’t they?

I think this year many of us have learned that we took many things for granted. I am not going to get into politics because I don’t want negative things to take up any room in this place. What I observed from my circle….is that most of us just wanted that personal connection. We are willing to take it anyway that we can get it. If technology will implement a way, we will use it…..but it’s not a replacement. Many of us learned that. A video chat cant replace a hug or a family meal.  We learned that. But we also learned that maybe we took a few family gatherings for granted.  We skipped that family function last year and this year we don’t have a choice. Was the decision to skip last year really more important? I think we are all looking at those types of things now, aren’t we?

I often look at my life and I have said countless times in this space that my life is a miracle. The fact that I survived my childhood and that I am here, in this spot, a functional adult with a “normal” family. That is more of a miracle than anyone who knows the story will ever realize. So I can have down days like everyone else. I can obviously take some things for granted like everyone else. But I can have a little flashback into my life, get a dose of reality and be thankful for food, a home (a real home) and a job. I can be thankful that my 6 children are healthy, navigating their lives, and they have all of the same blessings that I do. Isn’t that enough? I can be thankful that I am married to a man who is kind, giving, forgiving, protective and willing to sacrifice for us. That’s enough.

A few weeks ago we went out to eat dinner in a restaurant. It was the first time in 4 months that we were able to do that. ( or that we chose to do that, I should say) Something that was taken for granted 5 months ago ….totally impacted us differently now. We were so thankful for the opportunity. We were so happy to do something “normal.” I think 5 months ago I would have written in my thankful journal that I was thankful to eat dinner with my family in a restaurant the same way I wrote it last week. Simply because even though I know it was a normal thing to us 5 months ago…I am always thankful for those normal things. There was a time in my life when I craved those normal things and I will never forgot that, even now. Last week a few of my kids came home for a visit. We had dinner together, laughs and shared stories.

When I started this blog 10 years ago….for several years you will see that I wrote about my family. The chaos, the stress, the good, the bad and the ugly. But I said that the best part of my day was ALWAYS dinner. We always had family dinner together. We sat, we prayed, we ate and we talked, laughed and shared life. Those dinners carry most of our secrets, laughs and stories. Having my family here for dinner last week gave me a glimpse back to those days of laughter, loudness and teasing. I was just as thankful then knowing that those times would pass and dread the time when my table would be quiet. I am there. Last week, I was able to write that I was thankful for a lively family dinner. I will always be thankful for such a normal everyday event. Always. They aren’t my normal everyday anymore…but they are for someone and I promise if you are reading this now, enjoy the moments. You will miss them.

Everything is in the details isn’t it? When you get a thankful journal or you decide to start looking for your everyday blessings you kind of expect that you will notice bigger things. But it’s not that way. I notice my reaction to the little things.

I remember writing a blog post when I first started my quilting business and things had started changing for us financially. We had struggled for so long and we were always picking and choosing which bills we could pay. When we started paying all of our bills and I could go to the grocery store and buy the fabric softener …it was a HUGE deal for me. I could afford the fabric softener AND my groceries. It stopped me in my tracks…I wrote about it and my life was changed. Something someone else wouldn’t consider a BIG deal– I was over the moon and told everyone about the fabric softener. Kind of silly. haha. But I have learned it’s a great thing to be thankful for all of those little details. When I do my laundry now and I use the fabric softener, I feel a bit of happiness every time. Every-single-time. I thank God for that little un-necessary thing that makes me happy. This is the truth.

As we navigate this time in our lives….please think about those little things. Find those little details that make you happy. It’s easy to go into the world frustrated and complain. It’s easy to get frustrated and mad at the people around us because so many things are in chaos. I know, I feel all of those things too. However, it’s not helping anyone or ourselves. Let’s just be thankful for the little details of life that bring us happiness. Focus on the details.

This photo just makes me happy. I was out trying to get cover photos of a few quilts. I was kind of struggling the whole time. It’s not exactly easy to get good photos. I am not a photographer but I do the best I can for my work. As we were pulling away I told Rob to pull the bug over to the side of the road and I would use her to model my quilt. I love my little car. She has some flaws. I got a good deal on her and she just makes me happy. Snapping a picture of her with one of my quilts….details.

This pattern is coming out soon. :) ( I will be thankful when it’s finally released into the world)

xoxo

Charisma