A little over two months into our marriage, the apartment is really beginning to feel like home to my husband, Darek, and I. We finally have our days down to a science: I wake up and begin working with CNN playing in the background, I eat either a bowl of cereal or a bagel with peanut butter and a cup of cinnamon apple sauce, Darek's alarm goes off about 4 times before I go into our room and wake him up, he tells me how late he was up studying (usually 3 am), I return back to my workspace in our living room, work until lunch, take a break, work again, Darek and I run, bike, or use the elliptical, Darek goes to class, and so on.... typically a very good day without many difficult choices to be made. Every night I go to sleep perfectly content and my husband and I are constantly telling each other how much we sincerely love our life together.
While I layed in bed just before I went to sleep one night, I found myself wondering what it is that makes this very ordinary life so great? It wasn't so easy to figure out. At first I thought, "Wow, we are pretty average." But, I kept coming back to the fact that we are truly happy. The answer didn't come to me until the next day. After going through our usual routine, I was quickly trying to pack up a bag for the weekend to go visit my family while Darek was at his Navy drill weekend. I went to grab my final bag, while Darek patiently waited for me in the living room. I walked out and Darek gave me a hug, and said "Ready to go?" I said, "Yep," and bent down to pick up all of my bags only to find a king size Reese's sitting on top of the pile. I turned around and said, "Where did this come from?" and he smiled and explained,"Well, I stopped in the Sparty shop in between class to get a snack and thought I should get you a Reese's." And there was my answer simply right in front of my face.
I realized that no matter how typical my every day activities may be, the people in my life make it special. From my husband purchasing my favorite candy bar to eat on the five hour ride to my parents' house and laying it on my luggage for me to find to both my parents and my husband's parents sending surprise Valentine's Day packages to our apartment, to my brother Paul leaving prank voicemail messages on my phone and my younger brother Timmy and older sister Kristin calling me throughout the week to update me on their adventures, I realized how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life- people who like to do nice things just to do nice things without expecting anything in return. Of course, those are always the same people who I WANT to do something nice for in return. It's contagious really.
It's funny how such a simple act can impact someone's life. By having family and friends who send cards, write short e-mails, bake cookies, and just make a quick call on their way to class or work, my life has been bumped up from the level of ordinary to extraordinary in my eyes. So, don't underestimate the small actions you take daily-they may just be changing someone's life.
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