LITTLE THINGS

I was thinking that I needed a subject for a new blog post.  My growing number of five readers are anxious.  As I pondered on, I got to thinking about little things and found my thoughts drifting from one “little” thing to another.

Little Things.  Little. Things.

My thoughts actually materialized as I scratched the back of my arm from a bite I got on Sunday night.  I got this bite sitting on my couch.  In my living room.  I was just sitting there reading the AJC—a miracle in itself as it’s not usually read by me until Thursday and if it’s not read by Thursday, it’s not read.  So here I am early catching up on the news.  Minding my own business with one eye on the paper and one eye on the TV showing one of the all time best shows, The Andy Griffith Show.  I can’t listen to two people/things at once now even though I have two ears but I can watch two things at once with my two eyes.  Unlike my ears, my eyes can still multi-task. 

So all at once I feel this stinging and it gets worse and worse—all in a few seconds.  I’m squealing pretty loud to The Husband who is sitting in the same room.  Of course, he doesn’t understand the magnitude of my pain….the TV is on.  Duh.  He realizes when I jump up and start dancing around that I really have been bitten or stung.  He gets some snuff out of his mouth and puts it on the place.  For you who’ve never heard of that and think, “How nasty!”, it supposedly works on a sting.   And believe me, if you’ve been stung, you don’t mind having some Saliva Snuff put on the spot.  You think about the “nasty” part later.  

The Girl actually got stung/bitten by a spider a few weeks ago and it really was a mess.  I was thinking that’s probably what mine was but mine is not a mess like hers was.  Whew.  I'm glad of that.  We never found the critter even though we looked.  I never felt it crawling but I know it had to have done so.   My bet is that it was very little and scampered away.  It caused a big ruckus and a not-so-fun spot.  Such a little thing, that critter.

Isn’t it amazing how a little drink of water will cool you down and quench your thirst on a very hot day?  And isn’t it amazing how one little tiny seed can grow to be a large plant that will yield quarts and quarts of vegetables for the winter?  Isn’t it funny how one little sneeze done in a quiet place can make everyone there startled?

I was thinking about my Christmas ornaments.  I have so many given to be by so many special children and friends and family and each year as I hang them, I am reminded of those I love.  My very favorites, as The Girl will tell you, are the little glitter sandpaper reindeer and the little popcorn wire wreath.  These were The Girl’s first that she made in preschool so they are probably 28 years old.  They are so precious to me and I hang them high on the tree every year.  I love all my ornaments but these are the “little” ones that make me feel so warm and fuzzy.  And no, they will not move in with The Girl.  They are mine.  

My mother-in-law and my aunt both had cancer at the same time.  My mother-in-law suffered from lung cancer and my aunt from thyroid cancer.  Both of them wanted me to take them to their doctors.  Pretty much all or most of the time.  One lived in Cartersville and one here near me….on some days that could be a real challenge if each had doctor’s appointments at their doctors—one in Cartersville and the other in Atlanta on the same day.  I was burning up the roads on occasion for sure.  Anyways, both of these dear ones have gone on to heaven within about four months of each other….I’ve lost count, maybe 7 years ago?

Through all the painful medical reports and discouraging times with my mother-in-law, there is one time that stands out in my mind.  After the oncologist told her the cancer had really taken over and that all he could offer was maybe some radiation, I took her to the radiation doctor the next afternoon.  I wheeled her in, we sat there, and then the doctor came in to tell her that the radiation wouldn’t help and it was time to call hospice.  I’m sitting there keeping myself from crying as I looked at her and she looked at me.  I knew I had to be tough and strong.  She simply said, “Ok”.  He gave me information and I wheeled her out to the car and got her in and buckled, still not saying a word.  What does one say when your whole insides are crying?  So I said nothing.  I got in the car, buckled up, took a deep breath, looked at her as she sat there quietly and said, “Okay so what do you want to eat?” When one doesn't know what to say or do, just eat.  Eating always seemed a nice solution to most things, even though she was hungry very seldom those days.   She looked up at me and simply said, “I want a chocolate milkshake from that Dairy Queen across the street.”  I said, “It’s yours.”  Forget that she has diabetes, she has terminal cancer and she wants a milkshake.   I’m getting her one.  We still said nothing more, drove across the street to the drive thru and ordered the milkshake.  The girl at the drive thru said, “That will be 93 cents.”   My mother-in-law reached for her purse and I told her there was some change here in the compartment on the dash--I'll use it.  I opened it, reached in and began counting as I removed.  There was exactly 93 cents.  No more, no less.  Exactly 93 cents.  A coincidence?  No way.  That was the Lord letting me know through a “little” thing that He was there and He had things under control.  My eyes still tear up thinking about it.  And I still realize He has EVERYTHING under control.

As for my aunt, she passed on later that year.  She was a Canton doctor kind of girl until she developed the thyroid business so we had to go to Atlanta to the doctor.   One particular time I remember is early, early one morning we got to the hospital and went to the bathroom before going to the test.  When she came out to the sink area and washed her hands, she began to look for the towels.  I told her the towels were in the towel holder.  She was trying to get them out and I explained it was a motion one and all you had to do was wave your hand and that towel would come right out.  Now my aunt had never heard or seen such.  She waved her hand one time and nothing happened.  I told her to wave it again and showed her where and she did.  Out came a towel.  And I will never forget the genuine, huge smile on her face.  It was as if her whole face lit up.  I, too, laughed with sheer joy.  That was special to me because she never REALLY smiled much as long as I could remember.  It was a true genuine smile of joy on her face and I don’t know that I ever saw it exactly like that again.  But on that day that motion sensor towel rack, just a “little” something we take for granted, caused my aunt to smile and make a memory for me that I will never forget.  Every time I use one of the motion sensored towel holders, I see my aunt’s smile.  Every time.

Well, now that I’ve typed all this, it’s amazing to me where it came from.  I didn’t have all this in mind when I started but you know, I think I’ll leave it as written. 

This saying is not a direct quote but goes something like this…

”Take time for the little things because some day you will realize they were the big things.”