5 Little Things That Brought Joy This Week

This weekend, a very good, very wise friend said to me

“How are things going? You’re having QUITE the year of transition! You had a baby - there’s the birth and all the stuff that went with that, you bought a house, you moved…there’s a lot going on there.”

I knew that, of course, but sometimes it takes someone else to make you take a step back and say “Yeah, you’re right. I DO have a lot on my plate right now.”

Between taking care of Will (and trying to keep up every time he learns a new skill), working full-time, moving and trying to finish unpacking and set up our house to make it feel like home, I’m pretty busy.

This week, I let it sink in that I’m juggling a lot. My friend was right, I’m in the middle of a huge transition in my life and it’s not easy. I’m now needed almost 24/7 by a tiny little gremlin who gets almost as hangry as I do. I’ve realized I don’t have the capacity to be everything to everyone. I can only be myself, right where I am.

It’s almost funny how the last two Sundays, the message has been focused on the first verses of James.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

— James 1:2-4

I’ve been trying to focus on this scripture for the last week or so, and whenever something stresses me out or makes me upset, I’ve even vented to Elliot,

“I can’t say that I’m considering this PURE JOY right now! UGH.”

So, while I’m working through this busy season, I wanted to take a few moments to list out the little moments this week where I felt completely present and happy. This is definitely an exercise that is more for my benefit than yours, but that’s okay. Maybe you’ll take a few minutes to list out the moments this past week where you felt genuinely happy. The moments that were peaceful and calm, and full of joy. Sometimes it’s the small, almost mundane things that can really turn things around.

grocery shopping. by myself.

Elliot has been doing the majority of the grocery shopping lately, and since we’ve moved, we haven’t quite restocked on everything. I got to go to the store and buy whatever I decided we needed. I got craft soda, fancy iced coffee, snacks, my favorite salad dressing, ice cream toppings and mint and basil plants. I had the BEST time.

small-town parade.

Last week, my best friend texted me, asking if I would be going to the Townsend parade on Saturday. I was surprised that, having lived in Townsend for the vast majority of my life, I hadn’t ever heard of such a thing. I mean, my town has one street, 2 pizza places and a post office. It’s about as small as towns get. I figured we should check it out and we took Will to his very first parade. He absolutely cried with all the sirens, but other than that, it was a wonderful morning catching up with my friend and having our families hang together.

homemade snack wrap.

When McDonald’s came out with the snack wrap forever ago, I was a fan. A huge fan. However, I don’t go to McDonald’s like, ever, so it’s extremely rare that I get one. But I wanted one yesterday, and I had some frozen chicken tenders so I tossed them in the air fryer and made my own. And it was so good. Over lunch, we had a whole conversation about how a wrap made with a Tyson’s chicken tender had absolutely no business being as good as it was. I might make another today.

evenings on the front porch.

We recently got rocking chairs for our front porch and have spent several evenings sitting out there watching the sun set. It was one of my life dreams to have a front porch where I could sit and watch the world spin around. It is easily one of my favorite parts of the day.

summer hair.

I have wavy/curly, frizzy, thick hair. It does not air dry well, and I wake up looking like Mufasa most mornings. In the cooler months, I like to blow dry my hair and curl it for a few days, but once the humidity enters the scene, it’s a no-go. Last week I bought some curl creams to try, and I’ve really been enjoying my big, curly summer hair. It feels beachy and casual and it’s a nice change. If I love these curl creams, I’ll share them later.

puppy ice cream.

This week, we celebrated Ellie’s 8th birthday. I cannot believe my baby girl has been with me for 8 years, but here we are. We used to have a little birthday party for her and Mollie (her birthday is June 15th), but with everything going on, we’re not doing a party. I did, however, whip up a little homemade puppy ice cream with peanut butter and greek yogurt for my best girls. When everything seems to revolve around the new baby, it’s nice to celebrate our very first babies, too.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4