Time is speeding by at an alarming rate,  so much going on.  There’s been some serious buckling down, trying to get things done while maintaining some semblance of sanity (pretty sure I’m failing at the sane part, given the starting point).  So many little details that make up the big deal things.  I wonder if it’s more important to focus on the little things, at the risk of missing the big deal, or plow ahead seeing the big picture, letting some of the little stuff fall by the wayside.  Chicken or the egg.

Celebrating a big event in friends’ lives is what’s important.  Not who you sit with or what you eat, though surely those things add to the night.  Acknowledging someone else’s milestone is the point –  for that we pick out fancy clothes and come together.  An annual camping trip is about friends shifting gears over food and cocktails, games and beach sitting,  and kids running amok.  Yes, we remember what we ate (some of us are a little anal this way) but it COULD be canned chili and Bud – the gathering is the point.  Those are the memories we make for our kids, and why I drag my family hither and yon 3 or 4 times a year.  Why I make The Geek do the shopping when he’d rather not and watch him get small mouth when building the tent, why I endure kid kvetching when they’re crabby.   I  look forward to the little things like cocktails in the ferry line – it’s what separates that experience from everyday life.

It’s a tricky thing to balance.  Sometimes we get so stuck on the little things we miss the big things.  We fixate on some annoying thing the kid is doing, while he grows right in front of us.  We never get that time back .    My big picture is to have a healthy and happy family, and if that means they don’t make their bed every day, I’m OK with that.  I guess I hope if I pay attention to ENOUGH of the little things, the big stuff will fall into place.

Sorry.   I ramble.