It’s the Little Things

My husband and I went on a trip to San Francisco last month while my in-laws stayed with the kids.  During one of our calls home, my mother-in-law said to my husband:  “Tell your wife not to be upset.  But I did a few things around the house for her.  It’s not that I don’t think she can do them herself…I just remember being a young mom and not always getting to the ‘small things’.”  I know my MIL well enough to know that I didn’t have any reason to be offended.

One of the “small things” she did was to buy all new drip pans for our stovetop.  She said that she had an epiphany as a young mom that instead of spending so much time slaving over cleaning the messy pans, she’d shell out the less than $10 to simply replace them.  You know what?  That sounds pretty revolutionary to me!  What an idea!  And every day since she’s left, I’ve loved looking at my shiny drip pans.  One day one of them was missing, and I hollered (in a quandry), “Where’d the pan go??”  My husband quietly pointed to the sink, where an only slightly messy drip pan was soaking in water.  He sheepishly said to me, “Seems like nothing to just clean them up when they do get messy, right?”  Again, revolutionary!  I love it!

Other “small things” that have recently revolutionized my world:

*A $25 Britta water filter carafe I bought at Target for $12 on clearance.  My family does alright with drinking water, and our tap water isn’t too bad, but I’ve always wanted to try out one of these contraptions.  It states repeatedly in the brochure that it is NOT a “purification” device, but merely a “filtration” device.  Ok, whatever.  All I know is that the water does taste a little better, and the simple fact that we now constantly have cold water waiting in the fridge has increased our water consumption significantly.  It’s also funny how the kids actually argue to fill the carafe, having fun watching the trickle of water that funnels through the filter.

*My new hairdryer.  Well…not just the hairdryer, but more specifically the diffuser.  I have never – I repeat, NEVER – in my entire life used the diffuser attachment on ANY hairdryer I’ve ever owned.  I honestly just never knew what it was for.  And I’m not much of a fuss when it comes to my appearance, so I figured I wasn’t missing anything.  Oh, how wrong I was!  Now that I’ve decided (I think) to grow my hair out, I’ve been spending more time styling my hair.  That diffuser thingamajigger not only cuts the drying time in half, but it makes my hair all poofy (I think the word they use in commercials is “voluminous” or something like that).  I even took one step further and bought myself some Tres Semme hairspray!!  With an “approved by Project Runway stylist” banner on the bottle!  Yes…I’ve heard of Project Runway.   I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard of it!

*Two new tanks tops.  Ok, as a rule, I don’t wear tank tops on their own.  But…many of the plus-sized and maternity tops I have found recently are SOOOO low-cut!!  I mean, I know I’ve got more action happening there now that those pregnancy hormones are in full swing, but please!!  Well, simple solution.  I just found two tank tops that were cheap and comfy, and voila – I can buy the cute shirts, and still feel nice and modest.

*And one last NOT-so-”small” (but still revolutionary!) addition to our world:  a new BBQ.  Woo-hoo!!  Many years ago we inherited an already well-used bbq from my husband’s brother, and year after year we’ve done our level best to keep that thing alive.  Last Father’s Day I even bought a new heating element for it and worked for hours on sprucing it up.  This year, though, the baby’s gotta be retired.  Put out to pasture.  Or at least to the curb with a “needs TLC, but price is right:  FREE”  sign on it.  Last month we went to Lowe’s and bit the bullet on a nice, reasonable gas grill.  No, it doesn’t have a built-in dash or a sink and side burner attached, but it does have plenty of cooking space.  And can I just tell you?…I love bbq!  It’s so easy!  So painless!  So tasty!  So…so…so revolutionary!!

Here’s hoping the small things in your life keep you sane and happy, too!

You might also enjoy these related posts from Tree, Root, and Twig:

1. 100 Things About Me
2. Things I Will Not Worry About While I'm Away
3. Things I’ve Learned from Working Out

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