It’s the Small Things

My parents’ lives have become quite limited.  My 92-year-old dad can no longer stand or walk.  He gets around the house in a wheelchair, but he is unable to transfer into a car.  To go anywhere he must have a van driver take him.  So, for the past year he has mostly been at home.  My dad enjoys looking out the window and watching the deer and turkeys in their yard.  My mom will be 90 in a few days.  She cares for him with the help of several aides and other medical people who come to the house.  She doesn’t get out much either.

Recently, she described their early morning ritual.  My dad sleeps in a hospital bed in the guest room and my mom sleeps in their bedroom at the other end of the house.  I bought them an intercom so they could communicate more easily.  My mom told me that she gets up around 7:30 a.m. and carries the intercom into the bathroom with her.  Before long she hears my dad’s voice over the intercom. “Honey, it’s 8:00 o’clock.”  She tells him she’s coming soon.  Sometimes they joke.  She laughs when she tells me this; she enjoys these conversations.  It will be sad, she says, when one of them is gone.

Now that I too am stuck at home, I am beginning to notice the little things in my life that make me smile.

We are not in a hurry in the morning so I have time to snuggle with my husband in bed.  After nearly 40 years of marriage, I realize that I tend to take some things for granted.

Our cats are endlessly entertaining.  Our Siamese mix is very affectionate but she doesn’t like me to pick her up; she wants to be in control.  She will sit and just stare at me with her bright blue eyes, watching my every move.  Our black cat is an explorer who thoroughly investigates the yard and our indoor cupboards.  When she wants attention, she stands in front of my computer monitor, blocking my view, and then flops down on the desk, expecting me to pet her.

We have been taking lots of walks along the river with our dog.  She gets so excited, especially when she sees other dogs; sometimes she actually gets to sniff them.  When she spots a squirrel she goes on high alert, eager to chase it.  As she walks along she periodically turns around to look at us with a big dog smile.

The arrival of spring has brought new delights.  The trees are just beginning to bud out.  The early spring flowers brighten an otherwise dead landscape.  The sunshine is welcome as it warms my stiff body and shines off the water and through the tree blossoms.  This morning as I was finishing my breakfast, I heard the calls of chickadees.  I looked out our sliding glass door and spotted a chickadee on our birdhouse.  He looked inside and then just sat there for a while.  I could hear another chickadee calling.  A while after he left, another one landed on the house.  I think they are house hunting!  I hope they settle in soon.

Often it is the small things in our lives that keep us going.  We just need to take the time to appreciate them.