It’s a very common saying” Be thankful for the little things!”. This morning as I type this, I am sitting out in our screened in porch, sipping my coffee, and watching the hummingbirds battle it out over the bluestone patio my husband designed. Every word in that sentence fills me with gratitude. Sometimes we say “Be thankful for the little things” when we feel we have nothing big or momentous going on to be grateful for. But isn’t it the “little things” that we really need in our lives? This all really hit home for me during the early lockdown days of the Covid crisis, when we were all ordered to stay at home except for essential business. In our house some of us were working, some of us were losing jobs and all of the kids were home from school and bored. The feelings of helplessness and anxiety about the future were overwhelming. I would try to sneak out every day to walk the trails behind our house with the dog and my son to get a little break from the indoors. And every day it rained. And kept raining. And it was cold. It was the type of cold and wet that made you think you would never be warm again. So with the virus, and the lockdown, and the uncertainty and the obnoxious bone-chilling weather I told myself in order to sustain it all I needed to focus, bring my thoughts in closer and only look at the here and now. And when I did this and truly focused on the little things around me I saw that they weren’t so little after all. I felt the rain drops as they fell on new crocuses pushing through the soil, I heard the soft breath of our dog as he jogged up ahead of us, I saw the smirk on my son’s face when an caught a garter snake just as he did when he was a little boy-all the small little things that really make up the big things that keep me going; Our family, our pets and the simple beauty in the nature that surrounds us. All things that tend to go unnoticed and under-appreciated in the rush of everyday living. There is a song called “Simple Gifts”. I was raised with this song and while I am not urging you to listen to it because it is not much of a jam by today’s standards, the lyrics keep coming to mind.

“Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free,

Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be…”

I try to remind myself that losing things allows us to be where we ought to be. I hear the lyrics in my head and try to allow them to calm me. I try to think what it is to be true to yourself. This is not the first time in my life that I have stripped away layers of things that did not suit me and only weighed me down. It is a very uncomfortable process and a very humbling one too. But fortunately for me, my husband has known and believed in my vision to start Frost & Found almost from the time we first met, and he knows that creativity is like air for me and it is everything I do.I came home from a work trip to NYC once and brought him a little mini vase I had found and bought for him. He loves it so much and says it is one of his favorite gifts ever. So, here is a picture of a little thing I am most thankful for. It is the tiniest little vase that reminds me that even the smallest little thing that sometimes seems like nothing is really just a symbol of something much bigger and hopeful. And always be thankful for the little things because they are neither little nor simple, they are everything.

Love,

Bonnie

We have the “little things” vase and planters available please message me on frostandfound.com they are $25 with arrangements.