It's the little things.

It's the little things that can make my day or push me over the edge.

Little things can make me smile, like listening to Phantom of the Opera/Les Miserables music really loud when no one else is home (I love musicals), or reading a positive comment from an eBay customer (I'm only 1 feedback away from a new colored star...don't laugh, it's a BIG deal - really!), or getting a really big cranberry ice tea from Sonic on a hot day (until I get home and everyone else finds out I went to Sonic without them). It makes me smile that I am such a stickler for grammar when I'm teaching my kids, but yet I turn around and write long, rambling, run-on sentences like the one above - because I want to. It makes my day when I have a stash of my favorite snacks/junk food that no one knows about but me (at least until someone finds it and I have to move it again - I'm running out of hiding places.). I love being able to take a good book and go sit out in the warm sun on the lanai - in November.

Little things can also make me crazy, like milk jugs/juice bottles with one swallow left taking up space in the fridge (just finish it off already, it's not thoughtful to taunt a thirsty person with just a taste...ditto for leaving 1 bite of ice cream, the crumbs of chips, empty cracker boxes, etc.), kids asking for a snack 22 minutes after we've eaten a meal (I know they're growing, but come on!), or being asked the same unfunny joke a million times (I've been counting!). It drives me crazy when the cat meows to go out, then five minutes later, meows to come in, then repeats this pattern until no one wants to play that game anymore, which with 5 people can sometimes take awhile, especially if everyone is doing their own thing and not realizing what is going on. Swapping the empty toilet paper roll for a new one is apparently a very complex undertaking...which makes me a genius, since I'm the only one who can figure it out. I know it only takes 3 seconds, so I just do it - but it irritates me well beyond what is reasonable.

I guess it isn't so much the little things, as my reaction to the little things that gives them the power to make or break my day. Knowing that, I am striving to focus on the smiley moments and not the crazy ones that seem to pop up every day. Some days this is easier than others, but it's worth the effort when I realize more of my days are ending with a smile.