Grin and Share It

Today I ran errands with all three kids and we were out right around lunchtime.  For some reason they love to eat pizza at Sam's Club.  I don't know if they love the excitement of it, or the novelty of it, or if it's just really that good.  So we sat at a table at the front of the store and they ate their pizza before we did our shopping.  Eliana was already strapped in the cart, but she ate her fair share too.  And the thing that struck me is that quite a number of people who were headed out of the store left with a smile on their faces because of Eliana.  We were right next to the exit, and so everyone who was leaving passed us. 

I think all of my kids are pretty good (most of the time), especially with other people.  Eliana just happened to be the one folks saw-her position was prominent.  So, these sweet little older ladies would walk by and Eliana would grin and wave and kick her feet, and the ladies would wave and smile back at her, and then at each other.  It was funny to watch.  And it wasn't just little older ladies either.  So many people waved and smiled at her, and she at them.  Something so easy to do, and so contagious.  Just a little grin. 

I take so much for granted, and watching this interaction between strangers, and generations, was a little lesson for me.  Small things can mean so much, and have such a big impact.  Some small things ought to be small (a spill-which we dealt with in the store; a missing pencil-I think we have 700 lost pencils floating around our house; when my clean clothes fall on the floor-this happens daily).  Distinguishing between the small things that are meaningful in a good way and the small things that should be "let go" is a skill that I need to sharpen.  Maybe reflecting on that daily can be a helpful enterprise for me.