A challenging week.....

Its been a challenging week.

Challenging at work...challenging at home...

Not in a terribly bad way, just in a massively busy...'pulled in about 10 different directions' kind of way.

Which made me think, now that I have come out 'the other side'.....

About how 'sometimes' all those small things can appear to be monumentally bigger than they actually are,









and how that stress carries onto those closest to me.....

I tend to retreat into myself when I'm stressed, when my coping skills are pretty much depleted.

Even though I make it my own personal mantra to always try to remember those small things that count - sometimes those other 'big' things just keep on coming in and take up 'space'....

They tend to cloud the way that I am seeing things.....

There are a lot of things to be grateful for...

I know this much is true.....

This week, these are my FIVE small things that count....

1. Enduring love (OK, not really a 'small' thing !!!) ...
2. Music to listen to...
3. Movies to watch...
4. Time to unwind...
5. Brekkie rice...

These are the small things that count..........

The Last of the Firsts....

It's the small things that count......


My Grannie was 85 years young when she passed away....


I remember not so long before that time, she said to me "I'd love to swim in the ocean one more time - to feel the sting of the salt water and the pound of the waves against my skin; even the sand between my toes....I'd love to be able to float again"


I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately, thinking about 'The Last Times'....


We often celebrate the 'Firsts'. For example, the first kiss, the first word that our babies speak and their first steps. But what about the lasts....??

• The last time you slept at home before you 'officially' moved out....
• The last time your child crawled....
• The last time you saw someone special....
• The last time you told someone they mean a lot to you....
• The last time you carried your child, before they have learnt to walk....
• The last nappy change.... (ever)

A lot of the 'lasts' happen before we even realise....

I know that my Grannie wouldn't have thought that day when she was swimming in the surf, that would be the last time....

I have made a commitment to remember and cherish those 'Lasts of the Firsts'..

Trouble is....most often they sneak past before I have even noticed - and it's not until some time later that I realise their absence...

Today my FIVE small things that count are:

1. A child's smile
2. Seeing the wind blow the trees
3. Warm winter days
4. Aloe vera tissues
5. The smell of coffee in the morning

These are the small things that count....

A new day....

It's the small things that count......


Sometimes I forget the good things that are happening;


I shouldn't though.


There are a lot of bad things that happen in this world;


My little world, and the greater world that surrounds me...


But then I make myself stop and think..


Of all the things that are good,


and even great.


Bad things have happened to me of course;


I've nursed my beautiful son,


and cried tears over my sleeping angel.


I've slept alone....


and loved endlessly.


But  it all comes back to me eventually,


As a person....


I can decide on how I should feel. 


So, today my FIVE 'Small things that count' are:

1. My son's laughter that makes me smile
2. An Autumn leaf I found while walking
3. A heater to keep me warm
4. My book - which means I can read
5. Photographs to cherish memories

These are the small things that count...........