It's the little things

Polka dots found here and camera smile card found here

Last night was one of those nights that consisted of snuggling on the couch, watching Modern Family, and eating Oreos and peanut butter with the husband (he's a recent convert to this practice... as recent as last night). Anndddd it was wonderful. I totally pre-ordered J.K. Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy, and I'm now on that constant watch of clicking the "track your package" link every few hours as I impatiently wait for it to arrive. Of course, my excitement isn't quite to the Harry Potter level of mania, but it's there. Believe me. 

This week I've really been trying to focus on the little things. The things that can bring a smile to your face and make a day a better one. Sure there are big things that can do that (hello marriage!), but there are infinite little things that when noticed are the ones that create the bigger things. I had an incredible advisor whose mantra was all about the little things in life, and boy was he right! Dr. A is a firm believer that a hug, a written note, or even a surprise candy bar can really boost someone's day from being terrible to being wonderful. It's just about taking the time to care about others to notice what's important in life. 

I was lucky enough in college to have the love and support of people who taught me the importance of the little things: friends who would leave sweet notes on my bed, bake me cookies when I was feeling the imminent stress of failing a test in 12 hours (I have my melodramatic moments), or would propose a spontaneous trip to Sonic for happy hour drinks. Even looking back on husband's and my courtship, some of the moments that stand out are the ones where he left me notes and Skittles (or a Reese's pumpkin/Christmas tree/heart/Easter egg... you know, the seasonal goodness) hidden in the library shelves while I was studying and sent me texts with the dewey decimal codes to go find them (nerd alert). It's these types of things that remind you of love and friendship, and that someone cares enough about you to take time out of their busy lives to reinforce that you are important to them.

So now that I'm down to the last few wedding thank you notes, I'll be back to my old fashioned practice of writing letters to friends, because who doesn't love getting a handwritten letter in the mail sandwiched between your electric bill and your unwanted junk mail? And I'm going so far as to challenge anyone who reads this post to also take the time in the coming week to write just one of your friends or family members an encouraging note to remind them of how special they are in your life. You may never know that they are having a stressful or bad week, but I can promise you that your note will make their day a little bit brighter and will remind them of how special your friendship means to them.