Season Two
Episode 49
Sunday Sip: Small Beginnings
Hello friends and welcome to the first Sunday Sip on Afternoon Ti. Each Sunday for the remainder of the year I plan to share a single idea, thought, or meaningful take-away in hopes that you'll be encouraged and inspired as you prepare to enter the next new week of teaching. Many times I have small ideas that don't fit into a regular episode so I thought it'd be fun to do some shorter topics starting with today's idea:
The smallest things make all the difference.
The big events of our lives are easily noticed, celebrated, and marked, but it's really the small decisions, everyday experiences, and seemingly insignificant things that can bring the most joy to each day.
Our family went to church this morning in weather that was just gorgeous - 60 degrees. Last week it was still 90+ degrees so 60 was dreamy. We then went to Walmart to get groceries because Julia wanted to get a few brownie mixes so we could do a brownie bake-off and vote on which one was the best. The girls have been wanting to purchase the Naked fruit drinks at school, but the mark-up in cost was crazy. We had forgotten about it until we saw them in the front section. You would have thought it was Christmas! They were literally jumping and talking excitedly about which ones they wanted. We purchased a few drinks for the week for them to try. I shared with them that sometimes it's the littlest things that make the biggest difference. They both began talking over one another about how exciting it was and how much it meant to them to be able to drink them this week. This was the small thing that made a difference in their day. A beverage!
Our family went to church this morning in weather that was just gorgeous - 60 degrees. Last week it was still 90+ degrees so 60 was dreamy. We then went to Walmart to get groceries because Julia wanted to get a few brownie mixes so we could do a brownie bake-off and vote on which one was the best. The girls have been wanting to purchase the Naked fruit drinks at school, but the mark-up in cost was crazy. We had forgotten about it until we saw them in the front section. You would have thought it was Christmas! They were literally jumping and talking excitedly about which ones they wanted. We purchased a few drinks for the week for them to try. I shared with them that sometimes it's the littlest things that make the biggest difference. They both began talking over one another about how exciting it was and how much it meant to them to be able to drink them this week. This was the small thing that made a difference in their day. A beverage!
I had a few difference makers recently that might look insignificant, but were really meaningful to me. I'll share two of them here. The first was when we were asked in staff meeting to consider our theme of the year which is gratitude and think about someone who we wanted to say thank you to for something they had said, done, or something we'd noticed about them, but hadn't. I was blown away when a friend came and gave me a hug to say thank you for a talk we had had a while back. It was a meaningful talk for sure, but meant so much to know it meant so much to her. Consider making this difference for someone else. Is there someone you could thank through text just to let them know how meaningful something they had shared, done, or a trait you'd noticed about them had impacted you?
The second was observing my eighth grade class as one of the students directed them in a piece I had taught them, hearing the clarity of each part, seeing the joy on their faces as they played, and then the perfectly clean ending as they finished the piece. And the icing on the cake was when they were so proud that they cheered when they finished. Celebrate the successes of your students and celebrate it with your students! When that one student who has struggled to play a steady beat finally gets it. When that class who has difficulty singing in-tune is able to stay on pitch for a few phrases as a class. When you have a moment where you 'click' with a class that you haven't felt a connection with. When a concept that you find challenging to teach is taught with more clarity than before. When a student gives you a hug because you worked with them. When you follow up a really hard day with an amazing day. When you get up and give your best even when you wanted to call in sick. When your confidence is lifted because of something a coworker shares. When you sing a song you love in class because you love it.
What was the small thing that made a difference in your day today?
Look for the small things tomorrow! It could be the thing that brings the biggest joy to your day and the first step to seeing more small joys which results in new growth and finding more of them each day.
One of life's joys for me is celebrating Halloween with my friends and family. Look for Tuesday's podcast episode about how I incorporate fall and Halloween activities into my lessons. Thanks for joining me for your Sunday sip!
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