Little things

Have you ever wondered what it takes to make someone truly happy, to take a bad day and turn it into a great one, to turn tears into a smile, to maybe even save a life? Sometimes, it's the smallest of things that make the biggest impact. You don't need to be rich or famous to make a difference in someone's life. It seems so simple to do yet some complicate it so much. I often wonder when did money and material things become so much more important than feelings and emotions.

I don't remember my maternal grandmother that much as I was only 4 when she died but I do remember the stories of a polio stricken woman who would be utterly overjoyed with happiness, when my grandfather would walk into the house and scoop her off her tired feet to dance with her around the kitchen. How she would laugh and how much they were in love. The simple act of a few minutes in his arms meant the world to her. For a few minutes she felt pure happiness and all it cost him was his time.

I had an Aunt who's favorite flowers were wild violets but severe arthritis prevented her from gardening yet, every day on his way home from work my Uncle would stop and pick her a bunch from the roadside. That was her pure happiness. For 10 years after she was gone he still put those flowers where she was buried.

My great grandmother loved to bake but ingredients were hard to come by. My great grandfather traded his favorite milking goat to a local farmer for the things she needed to bake a fresh apple pie for her family, That simple, unselfish act of love was done to make her happy. She in return baked that pie and traded it back to another farmer for a milking goat. THAT my friends is true love and pure happiness.

It really was so simple to please and make a difference back then. Somewhere along the way all that simplicity was lost and replaced by greed. Whoever makes the most money can buy anything they desire and that includes people. Once the touch of a hand was enough, now it still may be that same hand touch but the other is on the steering wheel of that new Ferrari. I will never understand the reasoning behind buying someone's love or happiness. Granted not everyone is so materialistic but those of us who still crave the simple things are few and far between.

As a child some of my fondest most happiest moments (and there weren't many of those) was spent staring up at the stars, catching fireflies, picking flowers, watching the sun rise and set, playing and dancing in the rain, swinging in the tree swing, watching thunder and lightning storms, listening to the crickets and other night creatures, listening to my albums and 45's, singing at the top of my lungs (even if it was off key), dancing EVERYWHERE, standing under the downspout while it was pouring. My parents didn't have to pay a penny for my happiness.

It's the little things that have the most impact on my life. The things that cost nothing but time and maybe some thought. The touch of a hand, the brush of a hand across my back, that special smile that lets me know I am the one on your mind, wild flowers, hand written notes, watching the stars, curled up through a thunderstorm, a warm tender kiss, a soul that listens and understands, a shoulder to cry on, arms to make me feel safe, someone who has my back and knows I will always have theirs, someone to fight off the ghosts of bad memories when they crop up, a hand to hold that holds mine back, someone who knows all my perfect imperfections and loves me just the same, a soul to soul connection, someone who makes me laugh, sharing songs or movies or stories that touch my heart or soul, a person that makes me a priority and not an option, being able to share painful past experiences without fear of judgment, someone I can be my true self with, a whisper, a touch that makes my toes curl, someone who takes my breath away, a person who doesn't mind that I express a lot and will try to do the same, going out of my comfort zone to try new things and having someone to share that with, sharing thoughts and feelings and dreams, wishes and hopes.

Simplicity...in it's purest form. No money, no college degree required to figure it out. The little things that most take for granted. The little things that some don't think make a difference, really do to some. The little things that fill me with such an amazing feeling of gratitude and happiness. The little things that make me smile the biggest.

The little things that mean the most.

Much Love, G.