Appreciating the Little Things

It’s a tiny little thing, this rental house of ours.  We’re crammed in this tiny space and the majority of our stuff is in storage. It’s been a big transition from Kansas to California.

It took great strategy and planning, rearranging and sending more to storage, in order to get five seats fitting into the living room so our whole family could sit at the same time.  It’s a “one-butt-kitchen” aptly named because there’s only space for one person to turn around at a time.  Our family tradition has changed from everyone carrying dishes and clearing the table at once to an elaborate claiming of chores and taking turns at getting it done.  This, of course, often means mom asks at bedtime, “Who was supposed to wash what was left in the sink?”  And everyone shrugs.

The animals have a small run out on the side of the tiny house and seem to have adapted well – maybe because in this small space everyone hears their demands for food.

We laugh that it’s just not possible to get alone time in our house, although we respect closed doors.

But seriously, I’m not complaining.  Truly I’m not.  It’s small, and we really can’t have company until it’s not so hot outside and we can spill out onto the postage-stamp-front-yard.  But I’m okay with it.  My family DOES fit in here.  When we get together for our family worship time, it’s cramped and almost too much togetherness but my heart fills with contentment because we’re all here and all together.

My oldest went back, last week, to college and is miles and miles away and the next one is heading to another college soon.  We’ll have lots more room in our house then, but that’s not really what I want.

So I sit in my tiny rental-house and I can hear my neighbors on their tiny front porch and I laugh that I have laundry hanging out in the side doggie-run because although I could buy and plug in an electric clothes dryer, to do so would mean giving up some storage space.  I smile at the thought of not being able to cook anything elaborate because much of my cooking supplies are in storage and I’m perfectly content to not be slaving over a hot stove in this over-100-degree weather.  There really are blessings to a tiny dwelling.  It takes about an hour to thoroughly clean this thing, top to bottom, assuming of course, there aren’t too many people home to get in your way and slow you down.  We don’t lose things because it doesn’t more than a moment to locate anything we’ve misplaced.

But mostly I’m happy because all of my kids have spent time here and know where “home” is for now (we dream it’s temporary and will find a home to purchase) and in spite of it not being spacious and beautiful, it’s home.  We live here, we’re healthy, we’re happy and we’re home.

We don’t need big reasons to rejoice.  We can appreciate the little things.

What little things are going on with you that help you appreciate life?

 

We can choose to appreciate the little things. #inspirememonday #blessedbutstressed Click To Tweet

Inspire Me Monday Instructions

What’s your inspirational story? Link up below, and don’t forget the 1-2-3s of building community:

1. Link up your most inspirational post from the previous week (just ONE, please).

2. Vist TWO other contributors (especially the person who linked up right before you) and leave an encouraging comment.

3. Spread the cheer THREE ways! Tweet something from a post you read, share a post on your Facebook page, stumble upon it, pin it or whatever social media outlet you prefer—just do it!

Please link back to this week’s post or add the button to your post so that we can spread the inspirational cheer :).

I found inspiration for my Monday at #inspirememondays. Join us! (tweet this)

So, go ahead! Take the plunge and share your most inspiring post with us!