The Small Stuff

This past week one of my dogs has been sick :-(. Nothing serious, The Hubby just changed the food. But it has been a challenge none the less. He's up two to three times a night and he left us lovely little "gifts" almost every day last week.

The other night, about 4:30 a.m., I was up letting him out to use the bathroom when The Hubby appeared in the kitchen. Now, what I haven't told you is that my dog has serious issues when it comes to stairs. So letting him out meant I also had to go outside and bring him back in, at 4:30 in the morning. Even though I didn't feel like it, I figured I would just hurry up, run him out and not disturb The Hubby at that time in the morning.

So, needless to say, The Hubby getting up meant I didn't have to go outside. And boy, was I happy about that. But even bigger than that was the fact that I didn't have to ask him to do it. It may seem small but it meant a lot to me. It means that he is getting to know the small things about me. Things like, if it's cold and dark outside I could go out and bring the dog inside but, the truth is I really don't want to. This means that he's paying attention and paying attention is a good thing.

So, as he goes out to get the dog, I stand there grinning to myself. We're really building our life together, one brick at a time. I just had to say something. I thanked him for getting up to help me with the dog. I let him know how much it meant to me that he got up with out me asking. I also told him how the small things can say so much and what he did spoke volumes.

Although all he said was, "Thank you." His smile let me know that my words meant a lot. And, as we headed back to bed I knew I had learned another lesson. The lesson is that the small things can actually be huge.

Sometimes in a relationship it's the small things that say the most. Those little actions or words that could go unnoticed it we are not paying attention. When they do something that we think they are supposed to do can actually be an opportunity to acknowledge and show gratitude. It's amazing what it can do for a relationship.

What small things can you acknowledge in your relationship? Try to think of one thing you're grateful in your relationship and then express it to your mate.