On the Little Things that Add Up...

 

As you know from the magic of photography, I am married to a man who can't fully appreciate a good salon experience. ;) 

But I appreciate that he appreciates that I appreciate one. And he always celebrates with me the joy I feel when I come home from a salon visit.

Yesterday was my day, and I couldn't possibly have looked worse heading that way. I had an 8:00 a.m. appointment, so I rolled out of bed, threw on a hat, and went. I was clutching my coffee while sporting my oversized sweatshirt and some questionably sleepy eyes. 

When I arrived, my stylist asked if I'd like a warm lap blanket. It was a little chilly in the room, and that sounded so delightful, so I said yes. She emerged with a weighted lap blanket that was warm and cozy, and I buried my hands beneath it. (She even warmed it up halfway through the visit.)

While my color marinated, she gave me a hand massage - being careful to avoid my still-healing wound - and I sat with my eyes closed, enjoying every moment of that. 

She moved me to the sink to rinse and wash my hair, and while I was over there, she rubbed my scalp and put a warm cloth over my hair and forehead for a few minutes. It was glorious.

I left with freshened hair, much more coherence, and an appreciation for the small things. 

If we're honest, the whole point of going to the salon is to freshen the hair. Free coffee, a warm lap blanket, a hand massage, and a warm cloth are not even close to necessary. But they sure do go a long way in making a good experience great.

As I thought about it later, it made me think about how many experiences I could potentially make great for someone else by simply doing something small. I don't have to do something massive. The small things add up to big results.

I was also reminded of the moments when I've chosen to do nothing because I wasn't in a position to do something BIG. Has that ever been your experience too? You see someone who could use encouragement, and you think of all the big and meaningful things you'd love to do, but because you (for whatever reason) can't do that, you just don't do anything at all. 

Goodness. I wonder how many blessings I've missed out on by failing to do a little thing - all because I couldn't do a big thing instead. (Because the blesser usually ends up being the blessee by merely doing...so the missed blessing would be mine!) 

I'm challenging myself to do something small but meaningful for someone else this week. Wanna join me?