HARDWICKS ARMY

 It’s the small things; the day to day, minuscule tasks, joys, and

My small joy, Cody the fifth son
I never asked for

pleasures that collectively make up our lives. It’s not the days of our lives but the moments of our lives.

Not all little things come with joy because each day brings both aggravation and pleasure.

Which do we focus on?

Sure we need the big moments, such as watching your favorite sports team (N'awlins Saints) play like a Stradivarius violin and we all go to bed dreaming of another run for the Super Bowl or Championship! 

The day we marry, the day we have a child, the day we win the Powerball or the day your child starts school...all larger than life bookmarks!

But life doesn't offer these moments on a daily basis.

I begin plundering this thought after noticing how excited my dog gets over the smallest things.

Shouldn't we do the same? 

What makes your tail wag?

Cody visiting the Country Farm

Through the eyes of Cody, my dog-child, I see that it’s little things that bring extreme tail wagging throughout the day. It’s little pleasures like either bacon flavored napkins, a back scratch from a friendly human hand or someone to throw his monkey....or penguin, or cat. (all from his basket of doggie toys)

Cody's big moments are few because he concentrates on those small joys like when his humans return home or he gets a bowl of food. 

However, he experienced a big moment when.....

....a neurotic opossum in the back yard visited Cody's world, registering a big charge of fun as the shaggy dog flew down his doggie ramp into his fenced territory. 'Possum fainted (known as playing dead) which allowed Cody the pleasure of barking at the laid out ball of fur. The opossum did not acknowledge how the excited dog taunted him, lunging and barking aggressively, but Cody relished the doggie high. He had finally caught something but really didn't know what to do with it.

NOTE:  NO POSSUM'S WERE INJURED IN THIS STORY.....Once it revived, Mr. Possum left the premises. 
 

Not the same Opossum, but a young one
that visited our yard another time.

For Cody, those encounters rarely come on a daily basis. He only stares at the cats from the window as they go by. That is his daily pleasure, a cat sighting. He longs for the day another furry animal crosses his path within the confines of his territory. 

My own small pleasures come with the second cup of coffee after the bustle and hustle of hurdling children and husband out the door. 

Small doses of joy like a kind word from one of your kids, a sweet compliment from your spouse, an enriching word from Scripture, or finishing one project you set out to complete that day. 

Nice moments that are spoiled until those darn Satanic Socks!

I hate socks. Seriously, hate, hate, hate socks. In a house, once with six guys, the parade of unending socks drive me bonkers!!

One day they will find me under a mountainous pile of male socks blowing spit bubbles and saying over and over, “Two to make a pair.”

Twenty pairs of my husband’s unmatched dress socks lay on my bed this week. Twenty. He likes to blame the dryer; I like to point out that the disappearance begins long before the dirty clothes bin.

However, the evil boys’ socks, don’t just disappear, they turn up everywhere. They have appeared in the car, outside in the yard, in the couch, under the dinner table and once in the microwave. Don’t ask.

We need to build up our joyful moments to combat the darker side of life.I am sure if at the end of the day we tally both good and the bad, the sum total can go either way. 

Sometimes you have to count the blessings even when they tally up in the red.

What brings you small joys? What makes a moment special?

Forget the satanic socks today and dwell on the bacon flavor napkins. Life is a treasure, but you have to make a few scavenger hunts. 

A great life is filled with a great many small joys.