Tuesday, February 7

The Little Things in Life...

I feel that I am a pretty random person in that I always have random thoughts bouncing around in my head. However, today, my random thoughts led me to thinking about times when others made seemingly small gestures that left, lasting impressions in my heart. Something that I have not thought about in a while. I just wanted to share some of those moments/memories with you all.

1. I remember when my older cousins put brought us younger cousins together every once in a while to bake cookies, brownies, bundt cake. Although the bundt cake turn out a bit on the salty side, the baking part was still fun because we did not bake to satisfy a specific purpose(breakfast, gifting etc.), but just had fun.

2. I remember one Valentine's Day when I was running a fever and I had to still go in for work at a pizza place near home. I was a high school student then, so the prospect of going in for work sick was not my idea of fun. I remember the four hours passing by really slowly and I kept feeling worse as the day went. I was relieved when the time came to go home, but as I went to sign out for the day, one of my coworkers walked up to me with a pizza box in his hand. I was very taken aback at first thinking I had made a mistake. When he said he had made a heart shaped pizza for me since he saw I was having a bad day and it was Valentine's Day, it was a lot at the moment to take in. In the movies, I used to always wonder how people could cry out of happiness, but that was the first time it happened to me.

3. Next, time happened when my parents decided to sell our old house. They had been renting it out for a while, but they decided it was a bit far to travel for upkeep. That Sunday, we went to clean up the place, so that it would ready for viewing. This was the house that I grew up in, so it was kinda hard to see it go. It was pretty tough work, so by the time lunch came around, I was pretty tired out. We were eating sandwiches my mom had made when she pulled out a little red cloth pouch from her pocket, handed it to me and said it was my birthday present. I opened it up and it was an intricately cut gold ring with a jade stone in the middle. She said that it was one of her pieces, but that age 20 was an important age for a girl in our culture. I was really overwhelmed by the thought put into the present and just bursted out crying because I was so moved. It was funny because my dad thought I had started to cry because I hadn't liked the present. My mom clarified. That was the 2nd time I cried out of happiness.

4. One Valentine's Day came on a day where my schedule was packed(one of my busiest college semesters(classes, extracurriculars, work). My boyfriend and I didn't have much money to spend on Valentine's Day gifts, so I said that we could do a simple one. I picked up some Thai food on my way back from work and walked home in typical Midwest winter weather. When I got home, we quickly gobbled up the food. Afterward dinner, my boyfriend told me to check my room for something and when I went in, I found a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a card on my bed. I came back out and read the card with him sitting by my side. I love chocolate, but the words he wrote in the card were what meant the most to me because he took the effort to write out and tell me how he felt.

5. Most recent moment came during the time when I was on a hunt for a new computer. I had been holding out since spring for the possibility of a deal on Black Friday. One of my friends had been helping me with the search and I had told him what my budget would be. On Black Friday, there was a really good deal that popped up, but it was a little out of my budget range. My friend told me that he had talked with several other friends and they had decided to pick up the excess as an early Christmas present.

These aren't the only moments/actions that left lasting impressions, but just figured I would reflect on some. I know times get tough and that we become so busy with our own lives, that we forget about the people that are important to us. To me, I think its the simple things in life that really matter and even the smallest action can make a person's day. Have you all had moments that meant a lot to you? I'd love to hear about them!