I think it is important to celebrate the small stuff in life.  Birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays are all great reasons to celebrate, but they don’t happen everyday, and I think every day calls for celebration.  That being said, some days are easier to celebrate than others.  Yesterday my “small stuff” turned three months old. Our little Kai has been making our family more fabulous for a quarter of a year already: this is reason to celebrate. Yesterday was also my best friend’s thirty-third birthday: this is reason to celebrate. However, even in the midst of great reasons to celebrate, it can still be easy to feel tired and to feel overwhelmed with life.

Yesterday was one of those days when the journey just felt a bit more arduous than joyful.  I am always striving to find joy in the journey, but some days it is easier than others. Yesterday morning the mountain of laundry and dishes seemed overwhelming, finishing my dissertation seemed like an impossible dream; and when my husband wished me a “good day” on his way out the door, I wasn’t really expecting a “good” day to actually materialize. I knew we were going out to celebrate my friend’s birthday at night, but the rest of “life” that we had to get through before then seemed significantly less than joyful. Then, as I cleaned up breakfast and finished the day’s first round of diaper changes, I realized that we were out of infant formula and I would need to make a trip to the grocery store: before Kai’s next feeding.

Most moms of two little boys are probably brave and venture out to the grocery store earlier than the youngest’s three-month mark, but I am not those moms.  I have avoided, up until yesterday, venturing out for groceries “by myself” with my two little boys.  Shopping with one of my little guys is a breeze: two seemed daunting. And I had been lucky enough to avoid this adventure…until now.  So, I packed up the boys, tried to time our outing around Kai’s morning nap, and I told myself that it was time to find joy in this new adventure: today’s “exciting” journey.  The great thing is, when you are determined to find joy, even in the midst of the mundane (or even daunting), it is there.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I prayed for a great parking spot, and I found one: right next to the cart corral, with extra room on each side for removing boys and maneuvering carts.  Today, I found joy in a blessed parking spot.

As I pulled the formula cans off the shelf, I handed them to Keilan, and we counted them together.  I smiled at his two-year old counting skills and his eagerness to help.  Today, I found joy in this “special” time with my little boys.

As we went to check out, the lines were long.  Then, as we finally approached the front of the line, a woman with a not-so-happy toddler in tow frantically asked to budge in front of me to pay for some toothpaste she had left in her cart. I can’t lie: as I let her approach the front of my line, my first instinct was to be annoyed.  After all, I had TWO little boys to keep happy, and she only had one.  But then my impatience departed just as quickly as it had arrived: I became overwhelmingly grateful to have TWO little boys living life with me and to have TWO little boys who were waiting patiently in my cart.  Kai even decided to throw me a winsome grin as if to remind me just how good my spot in line was.  Today, I found joy in letting someone budge in line.

Then, the most blessed gift of all: both boys fell asleep on the way home.  So I determined that since we were all loaded in the car and the boys were napping peacefully, I would just keep driving and we would meet my husband for lunch.  A quick text sent from the driveway confirmed our plans, and I headed out for a drive with my guys.  I swung through the McDonald’s drive-through for a coffee on the way and joyfully arrived at our destination half an hour early.  I parked and sipped my coffee in peace and quiet while the boys napped in the backseat.  I smiled at the brick wall in front of the car because, at that moment, a brick wall had never looked so good.  Sitting there in the warm car with my adorable little men in the backseat and a coffee in my hand felt as luxurious as any vacation I have ever taken.  And as I sat there, I said a prayer of thanks while I celebrated the small stuff: a trip to the grocery store, a chance to meet my husband for lunch, and…a brick wall.

Yesterday, joy wasn’t in simply “surviving” my day with the boys while I waited for the birthday celebration that night.  Joy was in celebrating all the small stuff along the way.  Yesterday, joy was in the journey.

Yes, I do take pictures ALL the time. I think it is important to document the small stuff: like a victorious trip to the grocery store with my cart “full” of boys 🙂