The Little Things

A few weeks ago, I was stressing out about how much cleaning I had to do.  Work was "putting my through the wringer", a phrase I had to use often to politely but accurately describe my mental and emotional state at my job, and I just felt overwhelmed.  Every room in the house needed attention: the bathroom, the kitchen, the office, the bedroom.  Spiders and ants were finding their ways inside, the toilet bubbled when I ran the washing machine, and I kept opening up my drawers and felt like I had nothing to wear (oh, first-world problems).  


I opened the fridge the other day to try and figure out what I could concoct for dinner that night and found a plastic cup full of wonderful sugary goodness with a post-it note declaring that I was special to someone.  The hubby had picked me up a caramel iced coffee.  I'm a weak-sauce coffee drinker, but I'm incredibly addicted to the dessert kind.  This was the perfect thing to sip on while cooking dinner. 


Another day, I had a business meeting to prepare for, which means waking up earlier in the morning (eww) to blow dry my hair and put on make-up, something I don't normally do.  It's just too much effort for me.  What do I wake up to?  The smell of eggs and bacon.  At my bedside.  

I opened my eyes to see a small ciabatta sandwich with egg and bacon and a pumpkin spice latte.  One of the first of the season.  I think the smile on my face stayed permanently with me all day.  The hubby had waken up early, driven to Starbucks, driven back, and artfully placed my sandwich one of our Food Network dishes (which, by the way, make every meal look professional just because the plate is SQUARE).  


Even though those two occurrences aren't "little" in any respect, I've begun to appreciate the little details that my husband takes notice of because of them.  The thoughtful decisions he makes, big or small, illuminate his thought processes and heart.


It's the start of the holiday season.  I'm an avid celebrator of all things Christmas.  But one of the more important aspects of this season is taking notice of the little things, both in your actions and others.  Not only is it inspiring in your writing and will help develop stronger characters, but understanding brings such a richness to one's life that cannot be attained any other way.