Definitely sweat the small stuff

            We have all received the emails regaling stories of people who have had lived through life-changing events and the moral is always something akin to “don’t sweat the small stuff.” It’s everywhere. Waving good morning to you from your Facebook inbox, wagging a finger at you in a well meant e-card, jogging past you on a T-shirt  or coaxing you into a pensive minute and a half meditation at a traffic light  from the bumper sticker of the car in front of you. At this point, it has become an adage or some may even say it is a cliché in American society. Most people will agree that it is sage advice. I think this saying needs a small adjustment. I think we should all sweat the small stuff, just make sure it’s the right small stuff.

            The small stuff is what sets a great chef’s recipes apart from cafeteria food, slivers of a second separate gold medal recipients from silver, and the tiniest pitch adjustment can make or break a music performance. To ignore it completely would be to cease striving for anything. Instead, let’s sift the small stuff. I think that life has gotten a little too complex and we could all benefit from a slight adjustment in thinking. A lot of us have been moving so quickly for so long that we don’t recognize the small stuff a lot of the time, let alone realize the value of it.

            Take this morning for instance. I woke up and spent forever preparing everyone for school and work. I found a love note written on my mirror in lipliner from my husband. Just a simple “I love you” and I did nothing. I had the day on my mind. I needed to make sure my daughter’s backpack was empty so the teacher wouldn’t think I didn’t care, I had to make sure the boys combed their hair properly so the other kids wouldn’t think they were sloppy, I had to bring the garbage cans back in so the neighbors wouldn’t think we were lazy. I was definitely sweating the small stuff! Downstairs, I found a note on my kitchen counter. It was from my daughter who is learning to write in kindergarten. It read: “just becas I lOve You love Marionna.” It was written on a torn piece of paper with hearts made from holes poked through the paper with a pen and a star drawn in the center.  I smiled and set it aside as I continued to prep lunches and clear the dishes from breakfast. I spent my day fussing over minute details that I thought meant something and which probably were pointless, while completely ignoring the important people in my life. I was clearly sweating the wrong small stuff. Later in the day during lunch as I was sorting junk mail, I realized that if I could take 3 minutes a day to sort junk, I should take the same time to prioritize my life! I pondered the events of the day and realized how important those messages were to their authors and how disrespectful I had been by not acknowledging and reciprocating right away. I don’t believe in dwelling on past mistakes, but I believe less in repeating them.

            Tonight, we will be having an old-fashioned home made sit down family dinner, because that is the small stuff I choose to attend to. Dishes will pile up and they may even be left until tomorrow (GASP!) but my husband and my kids will go to sleep tonight knowing how important they are to me. Tomorrow morning, there will be another message on the mirror, this time FROM me and my daughter’s lunch will have a special note as well. So, I challenge you each to spend the next week sifting the small stuff and portion your time and efforts accordingly.

            Please feel free to share your favorite home-cooked sit down dinner in the comments section below.

Home made Pot Roast:

Large piece of Beef or Pork loin.

Half a bag of small cooking onions

Similar amount of small cooking potatoes (or new potatoes)

Six large carrots

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the meat in lightly salted water until cooked through (use meat thermometer) in a large pot with lid.

Add carrots and potatoes boil until fork soft,

Add onions and boil until glassy.

Total cook time is usually about 4-6 hours – you can let it cook longer on low to increase flavor.

Sift all contents into serving bowl. Reserve Au jus to make mashed potatoes, or to use as gravy or cook dumplings in it.