Small Victories

It is Friday evening of a very Don-less week and I've promised myself some veg-out time, but first I wanted to reflect on three very small accomplishments this week, those of no real significance but which make me feel like I'm doing a good job... so chalk this one up to a "Susan pats herself on the back" post.

Monday morning: Trash is at the curb yet has not been picked up yet. Odd, because it is past 7 and usually the truck comes much earlier than that. I'm making breakfast and cannot find Amy's red-handled spoon anywhere. I always wash it by hand, so if it's not in the drying rack it should be in its drawer. No where to be found, and I begin to suspect that it got tossed right along with the container of cottage cheese that Amy ate the day before. Meaning that the spoon is at the bottom of a bag trash with all kinds of other good stuff on top. I debate whether dumpster diving is how I want to spend my morning, and eventually decide to just go see if I can spot the spoon without too much trouble, since after all, by the grace of the trash gods the bag is still at the end of our driveway. And lo and behold, there is the spoon, pressed up against the side of the bag and easily retrievable. Yes. When you're the type of person who never loses anything, you just don't want to start.

Monday afternoon: I'm lamenting how few pants remain in William's rotation, and how few of those are presentable after months of crawling and spring mud and gardens and the like. Then I remember several pairs of pants that I had months ago put in the too-small bin because they were a bit short and left his poor legs exposed to the cold. But, as I suspected, they still fit fine in the waist and now I'm not concerned about length, just want my boy's knees covered when he's crawling around outside. Four nearly-new pants for zero money out. Yes.

Friday afternoon: Amy has decided it is Christmas in May and wants to wrap up random toys and things in the living room as presents. Asks for wrapping paper. I stall, not really wanting to indulge this and part with my one roll of wrapping paper and precious scotch tape, but also not wanting to squelch an otherwise harmless activity. In a flash I remember having just discarded a Hancocks of Paducah catalog - page after pretty page of fabric photography. Wrapping paper solved. Brilliance truly shines when I tell her to use all the surplus address labels my dad sends her as the tape. One hour of entertained daughter with no materials wasted. Yes.

So, there you go. I just had to share with somebody, because after all, aren't these the small victories that make the world go 'round?