The Little Things

I had a minor mishap this spring. One moment I was fine, and the next I was trying to decide if I should go to urgent care. I’d put a small basket of dog toys in my hall a few months before, and immediately thought “Wow, that’s a real hazard…” and then left it sitting right there, certain that it would not be a problem. Until my bare foot caught on it and suddenly, my foot began to swell and turn colors.

I kept looking at my foot thinking – it just couldn’t be broken – until on day three, the nurse at Urgent Care pointed out the fracture in the x-ray and then strapped on my new summer footwear, a big black sandal with thick Velcro straps.

In the scheme of things, it was a minor injury and event. People deal with much bigger things every day. But the long walks and gardening I’d been waiting to do all winter went off the list. Plans had to change. After a few days of resentful ice packs and removing that basket of dog toys from my home…. I had a little more porch-sitting time than usual.

I read a favorite new book (The Creative Act, by Rick Rubins) and one line stuck with me…”Impatience is an argument with reality“. It rung a little too true. So, I decided to try to release my impatience with this reality and to try to stop the argument I was having with the way things would have to be this summer.

I sank into acceptance and took my daily ice pack out to the porch swing, and began to sit and savor a little. I sat long enough to really hear the rain. The wind in the trees. Watched the humming birds dart into the Bee Balm flowers at dusk. Watched the sky turn my favorite color of summer indigo blue. And yes, every once in a while, I couldn’t help but look at the weeds growing, too…and feel that impatience kicking in.

I’m walking normally again now – and back in real shoes, just in time for a few trips I have planned. I hope the lesson of this summer will stay with me. Try to roll with it, whatever it is. And every once in a while, stop and savor the goodness that is there in the little things that are all around me, whether I take the time to see them or not.

Thank you, God, for the beauty that you surround us with each day. Help me remember to always take the time to see it, and savor it.

Diana is a founding member of Peace Church, an avid gardener, and a newly committed summertime porch-sitter.