The Little Things

Zach left for work this morning before Bennett was awake. This is not the norm with our routine and I could tell Bennett immediately sensed a disruption in his routine as I was trying to get him out of bed, to the potty, dressed and downstairs to breakfast while juggling Elly Rose from one hip to the next...

It continued for a bit. Kristen arrived sending the dog and both kids into a frantic mode. I was giving her the run-down for the day when Bennett popped up from playing blocks to announce the garbage truck had arrived. It was Tuesday. I had forgotten to listen for the screeching brakes and rumbling engine, but Bennett did not.

We raced to the front door in time to watch as each can was emptied. We waved and today the kind man loading our bags in the truck waved back and gave Bennett a beep-beep of his horn as he drove away. It made our little guy's morning. Back to the routine. On Tuesday mornings we listen for the garbage truck.

It was a good reminder of the little things in our routine...our day. They are a big deal. I have a dear friend who writes about the little things. And how, really, they are not so little. The beep-beep made me so happy and when Zach called me this morning to check-in, I told him about the garbage truck and he responded with, "I don't know why, but that makes me so happy."

Babies and kids, no doubt, are a constant reminder to stop and notice the little things. A tiny little tooth has just barely popped through in the last week for this little lady. The past few days have been quite steamy. We have stayed cool with frequent visits to the pool, but also with our sprinkler and hose.

Balancing work and parenting is stressful. Combine it with the never-ending laundry pile, cleaning and home-projects (like our a/c freezing on us yesterday afternoon, making it 80+ upstairs)...and Zach and I often meet at a cross-road of stress and panic. But then we see the smile and excitement from a garbage truck beep-beep or our own arrival home from work and it erases all the stress and panic.

One-week shy of 9-months...we decided to try a barette in the hair. It is just barely hanging in there, but we aren't complaining! Zach thinks her leggings are a huge fashion police disaster, but her poor little knees can't take much more hard-floor crawling.