It's the Little Things that Count

It’s the little things that count. How many times have we heard that? A least a buh-jillion? Yet, too often we don’t even know what the little things are. So just for grins I decided to make a list of some of the little things I really love in life, but never really think about, until I have to think about them. Like now. 

• The two days after Patrick and I get a video game we can both play. Because those are the only two days I can compete with him. After that, he’s got the game mastered and I get smoked every time I pick up the controller 

• The windows open on a summer night and the sound of kids playing capture the flag long after dark 

• Cole slaw instead of sauerkraut on a Rueben

• Having another passenger in the car so I can use the diamond lane when the on-ramp is backed up 

• A flushed 3-iron 

• Seeing an open parking spot on the other side of the street and having no on-coming traffic so you can kick a u-turn and get the spot before the guy who circled the block gets back to it.

• Two days after a workout, when your muscles are really, really sore. Then you deeply massage them and it hurts even more. But it’s the few seconds of relief right after you stop that are the best in the world. 

• The strawberry-banana smoothie at SmoothieLicious 

• The sound of my snow plow guy’s truck backing in my driveway up at 4am

• Understanding exactly why a manager made the double switch 

• Reserving judgment when those around you aren’t.

• Having a student leave class and then tell you they went back to their dorm and started working right away because they felt inspired 

• Getting to the Rolaids not a moment too soon 

• Free coffee (sub) day when you’ve finally filled up your punch card 

• Winning one dollar on Powerball 

• Man vs. Food

• The Red Sox beating the Yankees 

• The Brewers beating the Red Sox 

• Blind to the truth Brett Favre worshippers 

• Acedia 

• Seeing a recent picture of yourself where you don’t look half-bad 

• The first time you put on new socks 

• Spotting the perfect mullet 

• Having a legitimate excuse to leave somewhere you really don’t want to be in the first place 

• Ernest Hemmingway. Women, booze, bullfighting. Enough said. 

• Balancing your checkbook the very first time you try 

• On Golden Pond

  

That is just the start of my list. Do yourself a favor. Start writing down your own list. You might find that life doesn’t suck as much as you think it does. But, then again, it does kind of suck from time to time.