Day 6 | It’s the Little Things, Right?

“The days are long, but the years are short.”

It’s one of Gretchen Rubin’s Eight Splendid Truths. And of all the truths and insights in The Happiness Project, this one is echoing in my bones this summer. Why? Because this summer is much harder than I thought it would be.

Lately, I’ve felt a little like I am drowning in toddlers. It’s overwhelming when you think about it. I get them up and dressed and clean. I make their meals while they tug on my shorts. I deal with tantrums, schedule their time, buckle their seat belts, find lost toys, sing them songs, hold their hands, put them to bed, and then put them back in bed. Don’t get me wrong. I love my children, but the enthusiasm, excitement, planning, and work is wearing on me. And I dream of hours alone where no one needs anything.

So for this month, I trying to remind myself that it is the little things that deserve attention. It’s the little things that I should savor and enjoy because the little things add up to big things. And it is the little things that I will miss one, five, or ten short years from now. “The days are long, but the years are short.”

Here are some small moments that I’m remembering:

• Julia learning about fashion and what matches when she dresses herself in the mornings.
• Our long shadows on neighborhood walks.
• Mornings when we sleep until 8.
• That Max’s favorite word is Mama.
• At nap time when Max calls out “Mama! Mama!” and Julia yells back, “What?”
• Julia’s new playground friends who want to play Farm.
• Jumping in from the side of the pool.
• Overflowing bubble baths.
• Max’s black Crocs.
• U.S.Yay! U.S.Yay! U.S.Yay!
• Pretending to sleep in the playhouse.
• Learning to pump our legs on the swing.
• The princess twirl.
• A heavy, sleepy head against my shoulder reading books at bedtime.
• Singing Taylor Swift in the car.
• Max’s monkey-see-monkey-do approach to life.
• Peach ice cream and strawberry Popsicles.
• Max holding my hand and Julia holding Max’s hand on the sidewalk.
• Puddle splashing and rock collecting.

So tell me. What little things are you remembering from this summer?

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