These are the days of...

Silver Buttons by Bob Graham

One of my new favorite children's books is one I accidentally stumbled across at the library called Silver Buttons by Bob Graham. The entire book is composed of mostly insignificant, everyday things that take place in the span of one minute.  I read it over and over again, reveling in the fact that the mundane moments are actually beautiful and meaningful - a mother practicing a folk song on her instrument while her daughter colors a picture in the messy living room, a little girl "mailing" sticks through the slats in the fence, phones ringing in a thousand pockets.

It should be no surprise to me, I have always been awed by the everyday things.  My favorite part of any movie is the first ten minutes, the setting of the scene, the bits of ordinary before the plot emerges.  In fact, the first (and only) series of books I have written were about a girl named Dot, authored at age six.  I turned out tale after tale about Dot, but the problem was, there were no problems in my books.  I would staple together books out of paper and then start writing, but the plot didn't emerge before I ran out of pages.  I remember my mom trying to kindly help me understand that lengthy passages describing the heroine's family members, articles of clothing, address and phone number, and detailed holiday menus do not exactly constitute a story.

Regardless, daily moments are deeply meaningful to me.  As I've wondered why, I've realized that motherhood is mostly little actions strung together.  Picking up the same toys, washing the same dishes, reading the same books. If only the vacations and weekends and big projects "count", then most of my day is of little value.  I'm so thankful that faithfulness in the little things holds value and beauty.  God sees and is there in EVERYTHING.  The big. The small. And even the moments no one else will ever see or even know about.

In the past several months, one way I've learned to record and delight in the little things is to write occasional lists in my journal titled "These are the days of...", inspired by Emily P. Freeman and her book Simple Tuesday.  What is common and frequent today may end next week as something else takes it place.  I look back with fondness at my "days of" lists from earlier this year and the memories they bring.  Here are some of mine.

December 17, 2016
These are the days of:
- a hearth full of snowy mittens and hats and boots drying by the fire
- hanging cloth diapers to dry on an old umbrella skeleton
- Joel sitting up in his crib when I lay him down and laughing uproariously that he can get out of a sleeping position
- Micah learning his first lessons at the piano
- Amelia and Micah running around the house singing Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Joy to the World
- Walking to church in the snow
- Micah testing the snow to see if it is wet enough to make a snowman
- Amelia yelling "no snowballs me"
- Joel grabbing lights off the Christmas tree until we notice him
- The kids clamoring for Caleb to swing them around and make them go "tick-tock" as soon as he gets home

As one year ends and another begins, what are "these the days of" for you?