Little Things

I'm at a season of life where my life is consumed by little things: little fingerprints on the walls, little boys running around the house, little teeth to brush, little clothes to fold, little things hiding in the carpet, little sippy-cup filters to fish out of the bottom of the dishwasher.

All too often it's the little things that I allow to overwhelm me. It's safe to say I am a person who gets easily overwhelmed. So a person with my demeanor who has hundreds of little things piling up in a day is sometimes a recipe for disaster. At the end of some days my husband (bless his heart) can tell I'm at my wits end and will ask, "Honey, what's wrong?" "Everything and Nothing at the same time!", I'll respond, usually with tears in my eyes and frustration in my voice over my own shortcomings. Because, truthfully, none of those little things really matter in the grand scheme of life, but they sure seem to add up to one big aggravating day that pushes me to the edges of insanity. And I feel bad for letting the little things get to me.

It's hard to find a happy place where the little things don't bother me. I mean, it only takes so many spilled cups of water before I am yelling at my kids over their clumsiness. Why is this? Does anyone have some advice for how to keep the upteen little upsets of a day with kids from making you angry, overwhelmed, and upset over -- seemingly -- nothing?

I have to remind myself daily that there WILL be little upsets all day long. I can accept that fact and brace myself for it, or continue to get utterly frustrated with the little portions of vegetables my kids are willing to eat, the little holes they dig in the flower beds, the little bugs they put in their pockets,  the little grease smudges they leave on the furniture, and the little stains they get on every new outfit.

Because these amazing little humans bring HUGE joy to my life and they are just children after all!