Monday, January 30, 2012

“In small measure, life may perfect be.”

This quote from Ben Jonson had special meaning for me this week. Three small, perfect things happened and I was reminded that the big events in life like marriage, births, publishing books, etc., occur only once in awhile. It’s important to appreciate those smaller things that happen in between, such as:

1.  A Good Joke: 

My daughter, Anne, called and told me my two-year-old grandson, Nate’s latest antic. My son-in-law couldn’t find the flip-flops he liked to wear around the house. He searched everywhere. He asked Anne if she’d seen them. She hadn’t. Finally, in desperation, he asked Nate, my two-year-old grandson, “Have you seen my flip-flops?”

Grinning, he ran into his room, opened the cupboard under his changing table, and came running back clutching the flip-flops. He threw them at his father’s feet and gave a big, belly laugh.

His first joke was a big success!

2.  A Nice Surprise: 

Bob and I arrived home at midnight after a long, grueling train ride. We were exhausted and starving. And I knew the refrigerator was empty. “I’m afraid water is all we have,” I said, and opened the freezer to get some ice cubes. Lo and behold, there were two strawberry sundaes from MacDonald’s that I’d bought the week before and forgotten all about — the perfect answer to our plight. We went to bed happy and satisfied.

3.  A Kind Deed:

Recently I took some packages and a half- dozen thank you notes to the post office. When I got there, the notes were gone! I must have dropped them. I retraced my steps, to no avail. They were nowhere to be found. Thank-you notes are a pain to write the first time; to write them twice is unthinkable. I sent a brief e-mail to those friends and relatives explaining what had happened. Soon, I received six replies that went something like this, “Don’t worry, Robin. We got your note. It arrived a few days ago.”

So, some kind soul must have picked up those notes from the sidewalk and taken the trouble to put them in a mailbox. What could be more perfect than that?

Robin Hathaway

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