I sink into the mindset, at times, that what's most important in life is the big things. Big life changing things seem to be what we gauge our happiness upon. Today was a blessing in that I was reminded that it's actually the little things that make life worth living.
I went to my morning aerobics class and I was especially happy because it's Wednesday, and I get to see my three special friends on Wednesdays. They have Down's syndrome. They always make my day because they light up with a smile when I walk into the room. I talked to each lady and told them how happy I was to see them that day. They were so happy! One of the ladies is really outgoing. She was excited to show me her new Tshirt. The other two ladies are shy but they will talk if you talk to them first. You see, when I first started going to the class, I noticed that nobody was talking to these ladies. No one would even stand near them. I wondered why... Sometimes when someone is different from us, we don't know how to behave around them so we just do nothing. That must be why.
Well I returned to my little spot and as I did, I noticed that a few people from the class were looking at me. I thought nothing of it and went on with my aerobics. About half way through the class, I went to get a drink from my water bottle. An elderly man said, "Young lady, that was pretty cool what you did in the beginning of the class." I was confused so I said, "What did I do?" He said, "It was nice of you to talk to those ladies over there, it made me feel bad that I hadn't done that yet. I should have been the one to do that." I thanked him and went back to my work out.
My whole mood changed. I felt happy that I had said hello to those ladies and shown people that they are sweet and they appreciate any happy gesture that we make. I was also happy that the man had taken the time to point that out. He didn't have to say anything at all, but he did because he wanted me to know. I'm grateful for that.
Later on this morning I took a quick shower and got out just as my phone was ringing. Now mind you, I don't generally answer my phone unless I know who it is that is calling. This number was anonymous. But I answered. It was my sweet visiting teacher Trish Sant. She wanted to tell me that her young daughter was talking about me on the way to school. She said, "You know that lady who we visit teach?" "Yes" "Well I thought her talk was so great on Sunday, how she compared her family to things found in a junk drawer (yes I did that) and I can't quite remember what Ivy was compared to." So she and Trish talked about it and remembered that it was a rubber band. Anywho, Trish wanted to call and compliment me on my talk and tell me that she thought it was cool that even her young daughter was impacted by it. I appreciated that more than you'll ever know. She was a saint for taking the time out of her day to call me and tell me that.
God has blessed me twice today with good feedback. I know it's Him. I'm mostly just happy that the compliments were not about my clothes or my looks, but about something infinitely more important, my actions. I'm going to need a good dose of humble pie to come down from this. Or am I? These kind words brought me joy and confidence that what I'm doing here on this earth is good and right. I take pride in that.
Ashley
Ps: please excuse any typos. I wrote this from my phone.
Long long ago I used to stretch in the funniest positions when I would relax at home. I had to giggle when I saw Ivy doing this today. She had no idea that she was even in a weird spot. One thing that makes motherhood so much easier is that I've been there before. I have a better understanding of my children's behaviors because I did them myself. I can't imagine trying raise a child without having been a child. 
