“little things” feature

We all have times when life is hard…and then times when life is REALLY hard! We also have times when life seems like it couldn’t get any better!

During one of these REALLY hard times in my life, I was pregnant with my green eyed boy, and my sweet angel mother came to the rescue.

I was hopeless and depressed. Everyday was a scary burden and I didn’t feel like I was going to survive emotionally. See, I was told there was no way I was going to be able to finish my pregnancy and I was to prepare myself to bury my baby. I was already half way through the pregnancy and so excited to be a first-time Mother. I was thrown into a brick wall and my whole world stopped. I had emergency surgery to desperately try to save my child, but my doctors still weren’t very hopeful.

This is when the “little things” search started in my life.

My angel Mother called one day and could feel my hopelessness. She said something that I’ve never forgotten.

“Search for 5 things that you are grateful for today, something that makes you smile – even for a moment. Something little. Something that could easily be overlooked. If you can’t find 5 things…just find one.”

At first, I just cried harder because, well, her request felt impossible. I was blinded by the fear, the hopelessness and the depression. But then I decided to try…so I started my scavenger hunt for MY 5 ”little things”. I swear the first day all I could come up with was… “I can see the sky from my tiny window”…I was confined to my bed, not able to move so the only hope I could find was the view from my bedroom window. sad, I know. but true.

Then, the more I tried, the easier it got. It was never REALLY easy. I had to make a conscious decision to open my eyes and seek for the positive. Now some people are just born with the talent to always be optimistic, but unfortunately so…I would not categorize myself to be one of those.

As time has passed, life has gone up and down, but one thing has remained the same…I try my best to search for the ‘little things’ in life that have the potential to bring so much joy. Sometimes I still miss them – I’m not perfect. But when I try it changes everything.

For example: last night I had to go to a meeting at 7pm. Mr. Wilson had gone to school after work and we had already had a full and difficult day. My blue boy had been crying for 2 hours non-stop and my green boy refused to walk, or put his shoes on, or his pants. And I was already late and I had never been to this woman’s house.

But then it happened…My blue boy sat in my lap and stopped crying and then my green boy said “is this meeting going to be in a different world than ours? Do you think it’s pretty there?” That was it. That was my “little things” moment. It made me stop, smile, laugh and remember what was most important. And you know what? Those ladies didn’t care that I was late.

So when you are overworked, in a rush, stressed, sad, grumpy, sick, hurt or even when life is great…open your eyes. Find just a small moment and enjoy it. Those “little things” are what life is made of…thanks to my angel Mother, it has changed me.

So it seems fitting that my first “little things” feature be from the woman who started it all…


Little things by DeNiel…
1. The sun finally deciding to shine today
2. My son-in-law flashing his handsome smile at me the day after his painful surgery
3. A jumping, wiggling, licking greeting from a sweet dog
4. My grand son peeking around the corner to find me…and then giggle with delight when his eyes met mine
5. My grand daughter jumping out of her car seat and into my arms when she saw me
6. The sight of my pregnant daughter’s "cankle" after a rough fall…and knowing that she and her sweet baby are alright
7. A phone call or text from my beautiful daughter that lives too far away

Go start YOUR search…
when you have your list email me at squeezingitallin@gmail.com and I can feature you and your treasures!

Have a great weekend!