The Little Things (Inspirational Friday)

                I heard a country song the other day that caught me off guard. Sure, living in New Hampshire I’ve gotten accustomed to hearing country music because New Hampshire is a southern state stuck in the north. Songs to me usually have to be catchy and upbeat to hold my attention but something about this song forced me to stop and listen. The chorus goes like this:

                                “You’re gonna miss this

                                 You’re gonna want this back

                                 You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast

                                 These are some good times

                                 So take a good look around

                                 You may not know it now

                                 But you’re gonna miss this”

                I had been having a really stressful week because the bills were piling up, my job search was, well, a search, and the apartment was trashed thanks to all of the stuff we’d just moved from Jesse’s old apartment. I found myself thinking about how someday we’d have a bigger place, more money, etc., when this song, which I had heard earlier in the day popped into my head. It gave me a minute to stop and think about all of the small things that I’m sure I’ll miss in 5, 10, 20, or even 50 years. I’m going to list some of mine below and I encourage you to do the same thing.

1.       Paying for a pizza delivery with loose change.

2.       Signing a lease for our tiny one bedroom apartment.

3.       Slow dancing in the living room to “Give it All We Got Tonight” after a stressful day.

4.       Earning $8 an hour and feeling rich after getting a paycheck.

5.       Wearing my mom’s old black pencil skirt to a job interview.

6.       Working part-time as an assistant and feeling like an adult with a career.

7.       Eating ice cream in bed with my boyfriend, talking about the day and watching Desperate Housewives.

8.       Driving on the highway by myself while singing along to the radio.

9.       Filling up my gas tank for the first time and scoffing at the $35 total.

10.   Hanging out in a male dorm room awkwardly flirting and scandalously sipping Bud Light from a can.

11.   Making out with my boyfriend on his dorm room futon for hours.

12.   Trying out a new recipe for chicken and panicking when smoke poured out of the oven.

13.   Getting ID’ed at a bar.

14.   Fooling around with my boyfriend in the reeds at night on the beach.

15.    The first time any boy ever put his arm around me.

The main takeaway here is to live in the moment and don’t miss the little things. All of the things I just listed didn’t (or don’t) seem important while they were (or are) happening, but looking over this list now I’m realizing how they are the big things. I’m making it my mission to try and live in the moment more. I want to enjoy the little things because as it turns out, they may just be the big things.