In any given aspect of your life, you hope that your little contributions make a big difference. At work, the small part you took in the big project pays off. The little things you do day in and day out for your family eventually make big differences. But, at times, it is hard to remember all those little things that added to something really big.
Last Sunday, my husband, along with a few thousand other completely insane individuals, ran his first marathon (I refuse to write "and last" because something tells me he will do it again, though he currently says diffferent). Our boys and I were there to support and cheer him on at mile 6.5 and mile 20. We spent the entire day chasing him chasing his goal. I have to admit, it was exhausting. Not in the "I ran 26.2 miles" exhausting, but in the "I have to watch out for two little people with no fear and minds of their own while there are literally hundreds of thousands of people around" exhausting. Needless to say, by 4 o'clock, I'd done my fair share of parenting for the day!
Rob starting training in January for the race. Five long months of short runs, long runs, run group, solo runs. Again, while I wasn't the one out there pounding the pavement, I was taking care of everything else so he had the opportunity to do so. As women--working at home, working at a job, taking care of everything--we do this. We handle everything so that someone else can do what they need to do. If we are lucky, we have someone around us who appreciates everything we do and maybe even reciprocates.
But it got me thinking about all of the accolades. My husband is a pretty accomplished person personally, professionally and academically. And though he was the one in the thick of all of his trainings and schooling and everything else, I was on the sidelines cheering and handling everything so he could, in essence, make the big difference.
No man is an island. He doesn't take for granted AT ALL that he couldn't have done it without me, but sometimes I forget this. Sometimes, as the one not moving forward as quickly as I would like in my own life, I forget that I have helped make some big things happen for someone else.
Honestly, at the end of the day, I wouldn't have it any other way. When it comes down to it, as much as I love the spotlight, I also like hanging back and being part of something important for someone else.
On this, the eve of Mother's Day (I realize it actually isn't the "eve," but it sounds so much prettier than "six days before Mother's Day), I'm patting myself on the back. I do a lot for my family. No, I take that back, I do a TON for my family. I may complain now and again, but overall, I wouldn't change it. I love that they all need and depend on me. That I'm the only one in the world who knows where everything is, when everything is due and how to take care of just about anything!
Read this. No, seriously. Click this link and read it and digest it. Such an important message. While we may sometimes feel invisible or not important, it's the everyday, little things that add up to something huge!
