It's the small things in life

As the title says, it's the small things in life that, well, put a smile on our face. At least mine anyways.

It has been a long week. I've been waking up in the middle of the night because it's been cold. Not exactly sure what's changed, but it's been difficult feeling energetic in the mornings. Monday started off with my farthest drive to school and a snowstorm on my way back to the office. Tuesday was a long day--with a long drive between schools and ice hockey after work. And today, well, today was just long.

Monday night I came home and I sat and ate dinner and rested. No computer, no TV (not that I've watched TV since October), no cell phone (not that anyone calls me). I sat and I felt like drawing. So I did. I pulled out my markers and colored pencils and a stack of paper and I drew for 3 hours. It was the most relaxing thing I've done in a while. In the midst of another long week of teaching, it was nice to do something for myself. To take the time to remember the things I enjoy doing. And do them without any distractions. I had the time to sit and dig into the Word. Something I enjoy doing but haven't given myself the time to do.

Tuesday was long. We were supposed to play hockey for PE during 5th and 6th period, but ended up just scraping the snow off the rink instead. I drove to my meeting after shoveling and scraping snow for an hour. He's probably the teacher I like working with the most; he's also the youngest and has the best English. We play ice hockey after work. This week we were on opposing teams, but it was still fun to have a friend who I could yell at in English. I was on a new team (again) this week, but they ended up being really nice guys. They even invited me to come eat yakiniku (Japanese bbq) next time with them. When I left, they said, "See you next week." I'll take that as a good sign.

Today, I really wanted to wake up with the flu. I hate being sick, but I'm exhausted. I went to school and had a snowball fight with the preschoolers that wandered over. Needless to say, I owned those 4 and 5 year olds. After teaching the second grade class (of one small girl), she asked me if I liked "Guree," to which I shrugged and told her I didn't know. She pulled out the Glee Season 1 Soundtrack CD. She told me she brought it to play during lunch time. We listened to "Don't Stop Believing" on repeat all through lunch. She and I were the only ones singing. I stopped at the stationary store after work to buy a few things, and the store clerk asked how I was doing with the winter cold (she thought I stayed home because she hadn't seen me since before Christmas). I told her it was cold, but I was doing okay. She asked if I liked oranges, ran into the back of the store, yelled at me to wait a second, and came back with an orange. She told me I should eat it so I don't get sick from being with the kids and out in the cold.

Sometimes when life becomes hectic and the sky is gray, it's easy to forget that a smile can light up the room. Taking the time to laugh can do a lot for a tired soul. While this week has been long and exhausting, God still provided small glimpses, small treasures for me to enjoy.