“I still get wildly excited about the little things…I play with leaves, I skip down the street and run against the wind.” Leo Buscaglia

The little things. Maybe it has come with age, but I’ve become more aware and appreciative of the little things in a day. Sometimes, it can be the smallest of things that change my perspective, give me hope, or stretch a small smile to a wide grin. It can be a perfectly brewed cup of coffee, a polite driver who allows me to merge during the morning push on Kellogg, or a simple thank you from a co-worker or a complete stranger.

The small stuff can get you through a moment, an hour, a day, a week, even a month. Just last week, I drove past three small fawns kicking their heels and chasing one another in circles around their patiently stoic mothers who were grazing in the field near our home. I was on my way to work, but the image of those three and their boundless energy stayed with me for days. The trio became my visual mantra throughout the week. When I would feel my neck and shoulders begin to tighten as I frantically answered an email or listened to a concerned patient or frustrated staff member, I recalled their spindly legs, oversized ears and what seemed to be their little fawn-kid smiles. Small stuff= Big Stuff.

So, I’ve decided to pay homage to those little things. From October 1 to the first day of the New Year, I will post daily about the little things in my daily life. It may be one sentence, one paragraph, a full post or just a photo, but it will be the small thing that alters my mood, helps me to exhale fully, or just reminds me of what it feels like to be a kid, again. Or maybe it won’t change anything about my day, just add to its greatness. For the next 90 days, I won’t sweat the small stuff. Instead, I’ll slip beneath the bathtub-bubblesness of the little things, their sudsy sweetness in my hair, and giggle like that little girl at bath time so long ago. I hope to encourage others to do the same.

Tune in on October 1 to begin 90 Days of Wild Excitement: The Little Things.