LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE COUNT MOST....

By Olivene Godfrey

Most people know that it's the little things in life that are most meaningful. So, I wonder why more people don't remember and take the time to do those important, little things.

While looking for something in a drawer this week, I found a Valentine that my late husband, Ralph, sent to me one year not long before his death. I knew he always spend a lot of time looking for cards that expressed his true feelings. As I read the card's words, tears sprang to my eyes and I felt a lump in my throat. I left the card in the drawer as a sweet reminder that little things do mean a lot.

I read years ago of a man who could be counted on to send two dozen long-stemmed red roses every Saturday, rain or shine, to a lady friend. But, another man who was also wooing the lady would sometimes turn up with a red geranium in a simple clay pot. And the second man would often bring things like catnip for the cat. One never knew what he would bring and to most women he would be the most interesting person.

Unfortunately, many people never show their love or friendship in tangible ways because they feel the gift should be expensive. But, I remember the wealthy woman who wept with joy when her husband brought her a bunch of violets he had picked himself.
And then there was the man whose business took him out of town frequently. He showed his wife she was in his thoughts by surprising her with little things that ranged from a single yellow rose to a small packet of granulated sugar enclosed in a greeting card.

And aren't the nicest gifts of all are the unexpected ones that aren't for any reason except, "I love you". Or "I'm glad we're friends.?" Thoughtfulness seems to come to some people, sort of an inherent trait, but anyone using his or her imagination can express friendship and love in hundreds of meaningful and inexpensive ways. One night when son, Barry, was a small boy, he wanted to roast marshmallows after we had a cook out in the back yard. He reminded me that I had said we could do that after the cook-out. I was tired and didn't feel like driving to the grocery store for marshmallows.

But, I suddenly remembered the many times my parents had ran similar errands to bring a little more happiness into my life when I was a child. So, you guessed it. I drove to the store and bought the marshmallows. I know I could have not gone and Barry would have been none the worse for it. But, the most vivid memories of my childhood are those times when my parents did little things that they probably didn't remember doing later.

There were expensive gifts during my childhood but I can hardly remember them now. Maybe the little things mean so much because many times the giver has spent considerable time thinking about a gift, or an act, that would bring happiness to a loved one.

The most precious gift of all may be to give our time to a loved one. Just a little while to talk, to listen, to share happiness,
and sadness, can be the biggest and most important little thing we can ever give to another person.

And we should from time to time be reminded of these words by Daniel W. Hoyt from a Sermon in Rhyme: "If you have a f friend worth loving/ Love him, Yes, and let him know/ That you love him, ere life's evening/Tinge his brow with sunset glow/
Why should good words ne're be said/ Of a friend till he is dead!"


See you next time.