The Little Things

Me and my two beautiful sisters

     There are small things that make up each of us: the foods we grew up with, the type of music we listened to, whether we went to church or not, and other things like that.  Each of us have a unique arrangement of people, events, choices, and small little details that make us who we are.  We have similarities that draw us to certain people and likewise, differences that keep us away from those we think we wouldn't like or get along with. Some of us are interested in anything and everything, while others devote their lives to one thing or maybe just a few.

     I think it's the little thing in life that make us who we are. It's whether we slept with a night light on or not as a young child. It's whether you lived in the city, the suburbans, or the country. Was there a library nearby or did you rely on the books in your house? If there was very many or not? Do you talk to strangers or follow the rule you were told as a kid to "stay away from strangers and don't talk to them"? Did your parents read to you and take you on picnics to the park and beach? What type of school did you go to? Were chores a mandatory or did you get paid or not have to do them at all?  As a child there are so many things that make us who we are later. Some are major events and ways of living such as the type of school you went to, whether your parents were divorced or not, or if you grew up in the church or hardly went at all. Then there are the things we never think about, like whether we talked to elderly ladies very often or if there was a window in our room.
     Everyday I like to notice something small that I do, and I ask myself, "Why do I this? When did I start?" Like yesterday, when I wanted my blinds to stay shut while the fan was wildly blowing them apart, I reached for my hair clip and used it to keep them together. This idea probably came from when we built forts as kids with blankets and used lots of clips to hold them together. Even the fact that we built forts and pretended to be Indians or treasure hunters is most likely one of the reasons that I love to write stories or sit in my room just imagining and dreaming.
     What are the little details that you remember about your childhood? What are the people, events, and choices that you made that changed your life? Think about it and the stitches of life that made you a unique blanket to show the world. Ask yourself today what are the little things in life  that make you who you are? What do you want your kids to remember made them who they are? It's not just the main events of our life growing up, it's the little details of life that make us who we are, and each day we can find something that will change us forever, even if it's just a small change.