Yesterday was a great reminder of the little things that pass us by and we forget to get grateful for them. I was a parent on one of my daughter’s field trips to a local storytelling festival. Imagine hundreds of children crammed on five buses on a very hot, sunshine day. We arrived at the festival and were escorted to a large tent. We sat and  listened to story after story, while every two minutes I would have one of my ten kids whisper to me “I am thirsty.”  I was in a sea of kids in every direction, no sign of water & no way to keep order, so all I could do is smile & whisper back, “I know, me too.” 

It was over an hour, but relief finally came when we were able to leave the tent. We seemingly ran from shade tree to shade tree on our way back to the buses when one kid noticed a drinking fountain. There was instantly a line of fifty plus kids. One by one they drank from the needed fountain. There seemed to be a small trickle of water, so the whining began, “There’s not enough water, its just a trickle.”  I stepped to the fountain and looked at the children, “a little trickle is better than nothing.” I smiled at the line of kids, “Some water is better than nothing, right.” They were all in agreement.

It was one of those teaching moments where we were all reminded of the importance of little things.  So, I sat down and thought of other funny moments where my gratitude was abundant at such little, funny things.

Finding a bathroom after a long day hiking.   Finding a bathroom when you need one (period). Smile. Smile. Finding a pen at the bottom of my purse when I had an inspired thought to write down.   Having one egg left when my daughter only wanted an egg on toast for breakfast.   Enjoying the last bit of milk with cereal.   Grabbing a bottle of purel after high-fiving 30 grade schoolers.   Having the ability to enjoy On-Demand when we missed an episode of America’s Got Talent.   Having the right amount of shampoo left in the bottle for one more wash.   Rolling into the gas station on empty.   Getting a warning ticket from a police officer.   One more pair of underwear when everything else is dirty & needs to be washed.  Finding money in a coat pocket in the middle of summer.   Making it in time for the previews of a movie.  Enjoying the last cookie in the package. Finding a piece of gum in your purse when you really need one. Reading the last page of a 500 page book.  Getting free podcasts.  Getting a lightning deal on Amazon & not being put on the waiting list.   Winning a Budweiser Snowboard when you don’t drink or snow board.  Smile. Smile. Having just enough chocolate chips for a batch of cookies…  So many little things to think about. Hope it puts a smile on your face.

So here is something for you to do…Do this…think of moments where you were relieved, satisfied with so little, happy to have a little bit of something to get you grateful.

One last funny thing…last night we were walking to a concert venue when we noticed this car in the middle of the center lane of the parking lot. We thought “that is a crazy place to park because no one can get through.”  We parked our car and then walked by the parked car sitting inches away from a very expensive convertible corvette.  My husband’s mouth dropped and he said, “Woah, I bet that car rolled down and luckily stopped before hitting this Corvette.” We both stood their in amazement at the possibility. My husband looked in the car window and sure enough the car was in neutral and had rolled, barely missing a very expensive wreck.  I only hope the owners of the rolled car see what almost happened and are very grateful for the amazing miracle of them not tragically hitting the expensive car.  A great moment to get GRATEFUL!! 

-Have an amazing day!!  Heather