It’s really a little thing.

I mean, cooking a meal… that’s kind of in the job description of a parent or a spouse, isn’t it?

To be honest, I am not sure if I ever really thanked my mom or my step mom for a meal they prepared. And if I didn’t, I’m ashamed of myself.

You see, it was after we got married and I began cooking for John that I noticed his habit of saying “thank you” for every meal — whether it came from a fast food restaurant, a microwavable bowl purchased at the grocery, the pizza delivery guy, or some hard work in the kitchen.

It’s a small thing.

But words have power and so those two small words mean the world.

It’s not just John though. Our boys usually do it too. Their father has been their model and after most meals, they will say,”Thank you.” If John cooks, I also say thank you, and if we share the cooking, we thank each other. It has become a habit — a good one.

In this world, there are times when it seems that small things no longer matter.

After all, even an invitation to the prom these days requires pictures and posters and flowers and candy… Seriously? Okay, I am not criticizing going the extra mile for someone  you care about, but  it feels like we’ve tried to make everything big, huge, or gigantic. It’s as though nothing is special, because EVERYTHING is special.

Kindergartners graduate, 5th graders do, 8th graders do… By the time they get to high school, it hardly seems special anymore.

I remember talking with a friend about her husband who was apparently not very romantic. Every once in a while, they would take an evening walk and he would stop and pick the biggest, brightest dandelion he could find and hand it to her. It was a little thing, but it meant everything to her.

A few years ago, one of my students came to class during “Teacher Appreciation Week” and handed me a bouquet of lilacs and other flowers that he had picked from the yard on his family’s farm as he waited for the school bus that morning. When he gave them to me in a dusty mason jar that  he had taken from their basement, he told me that he just wanted me to know that he was glad I was his teacher. It took thought and time on his part and I value that gift along with the effort he put into it. In some ways, it was a little thing, but in other ways, it was huge.

Truthfully, there are many times when small things become huge things to me.

I cannot express how huge it is to fill included — to be welcomed, to feel a part of group who see you as one of them. It’s a small thing to many, but to someone who has moved around a lot, it is an amazingly enormous gift.

In my desk, I have an expandable folder filled to overflowing. It contains notes from students, family, friends, and church members. They are notes of encouragement, thank you notes, and even good-bye notes. The words on them are small things — they took only a moment or two to write, but they have had years of impact on my life and the lives of our family. Really, they are small things yet, they are treasures.

How important is it that we do small things?

What is the value of taking a few small moments and reaching out, or a few seconds to say thank you?

In my Christmas stocking, John placed a beautiful necklace that has three small bars hanging from it. Each bar has a separate word: THANKFUL, GRATEFUL, and BLESSED.

I’ve been trying very hard to live a life where I recognize all that I should be thankful for, the gratitude I need to develop, and the many ways in which I have been blessed. As I am learning to recognize them, I am working to acknowledge those who have contributed to my life and made it richer — and I am challenging myself to express my awareness of and my thankfulness for their touch in my life.

I try to do it in small ways. First of all, I thank God for them. Then, I try to do something tangible. A thank you, a flower, a text, a note, a small gift, a pat on the back —  verbally or literally, a hug, a smile, an encouraging word, a cookie, a treat, a brag about them… so many little ways to let someone know that they have touched your life, that they have made a difference. If I value the little things, I know that others will too.

It really isn’t that hard, but it does take intention and thought.

I need to do it more.  You?