The UPS man opens the white gate, walks down the beginning of the paved path, looks up and locks eyes with the resident standing on the front porch. Rather than walking the rest of the way down the path he motions and then goes for the toss. The resident reaches out his arms and in one smooth motion catches the package. They both smile, one lets out a chuckle, and then off they go with the rest of their day.
Although not part of the exchange, as I watched this small interaction while biking down the street I couldn’t help but smile.
Sleep-deprived and desperately in need of caffeine to keep me awake through my work shift, I walk into the cafĂ© inside my work building. I choose a tea-bag, rip it open and place it inside a paper cup. I sluggishly fill the cup with hot water, grab a lid and head for the check out. The cashier yells out from behind me that he will be over in one minute. As he comes closer he gets behind the cash register and I tell him that I have one small tea. He takes one look at my tea and looks up and says “Oh, you are good.” I resist and try to pay, but he doesn’t let me. A smile widens across my face and lingers the whole way to my desk.
Courtesy of Pexels
While I was biking down the street and walking back to my desk on those separate days, I couldn’t help but think to myself: it’s the little things.
The more I’ve gotten older the more I’ve come to realize how special these moments are. Life is busy and stressful and these happy little moments are a nice reminder of how simple small interactions can brighten your mood and make your day just a little bit better.
Of course happy little moments are just snippets and don’t necessarily last longer than a few seconds or minutes, but that is what I find to be special about them.
Life is full of all different emotions and lots of ups and downs but to me those brief moments when you can’t help but smile or laugh make the stresses of the day just a little more bearable.