Small Things
It’s the small things that matter, the day-in day-out things, like having enough food in the house, a comfortable bed, the laundry in the bathroom instead of the garage.
Like the cute little huffs and groans the dog makes when she lies down in her bed, a text from a distant friend, or finding just the right bucket to capture shower water during the drought. Like soft Kleenex, cool filtered water straight from the refrigerator, and affording both Netflix and Prime Video.
Like time alone to read a book and sip iced peppermint tea. Finally perfecting gluten-free banana bread, and finding a melon that is as sweet and delicious as I hoped it would be. Like playing with the new puppies at the dog park, but not being the one to have to train them.
The pandemic constraints these past many months have heightened my awareness of so many ordinary moments that I previously never stopped to appreciate. I imagine this is true for most of us. And now that I am so very cautiously reemerging, I hope to remain at least a bit as attentive as I have been to the small gratitudes.
A hug feels so daring, a meal at a friend’s house so bold. Seeing unmasked faces so exhilarating. I look forward to hitherto proscribed pleasures, like running into a friend in Whole Foods or enjoying a cup of tea at a café. Dining at a favorite restaurant, or stopping into a store to run a routine errand. Going to a movie, visiting my sister across the country.
But I am reluctant to lose the immediacy of each moment I experienced when that was all there was. It feels like ending an elimination diet, adding back each prohibited item, slowly, one at a time, savoring the flavor and texture of each bite.
Of course, in spite of this perspective gained in the time of COVID, I still pretty much take all of these little delights for granted. I also know, however, that most people on the planet are not so fortunate. What I call small pleasures are beyond imagining for so many. Enough clean water, nourishing food, safe, dry shelter — not to mention healthcare, education, economic opportunity and social justice — these human necessities are luxuries in much of the world.
So, in addition to paying attention within my own modest sphere, I hope to remain alert to the privilege that I have been born into; to appreciate that what I take for granted is a precious gift that I did nothing to deserve; and to be grateful and kind, and do what I can.
