I don’t know when it happened.  Maybe it was after I read the book Making Ordinary Days Extraordinary.  Maybe it was my grandma’s words ringing in my ears “take joy in the little things in life because the big things don’t come along very often.”  But somewhere along the way, I began to celebrate little things.  It could be a paper chain hung or a favorite meal, a compost cake for Earth Day or a special walk in the park.  I noticed it this time last year on the first day of spring.  My husband and I had run away for the weekend and left my mom in charge of the kids.  I called her on this morning one year ago and said “It’s the first day of spring!  Can you please do something special with the kids?  It can even just be going out for ice-cream or a visit to the park, but tell them it’s to celebrate the first day of spring!”  For some reason, naming it makes it take on epic proportions.

My mom did great!  She went to Lowe’s and was able to procure free birdhouse kits from their last kids’ building day.  They went home and made birdhouses to welcome spring.  Then they headed over to Lumpy’s for ice-cream.  The kids were thrilled.  It was an inexpensive way to make an ordinary day extraordinary.

This year, my daughter noticed the flower I had drawn on the calendar signaling the first day of spring.  At the Awana store this week, she used her money to buy a birdhouse….”because Friday is the first day of Spring!”  There will be ice cream cones.  There will be a mini celebration because the calendar says that winter is gone and spring is here.  My kids will be content.  But mostly, I hope they will remember all those times we took joy in the little things, because the big things don’t come along very often!