The small things

FAM, Leganés

The small things

The family cat, Spessel, enjoying the heat and vibrations from my brother’s computer.

It is funny that no matter how old you get, you are always looking forward to the small things in life that bring you some vestige of comfort. If not comfort, then at least contentment. Perhaps it is a light at the end of the tunnel sort of thing… like when in elementary school the end of each day was a small victory. Nevermind that you have to go back tomorrow, today you are done, and that is what is important. I guess some people still view their life through that lens when they are older as well, just replace school with work. Or in some people’s case, more school.

Sometimes one will put aside these smaller moments in the quest of a larger goal. And there is definitely merit in doing that as well. Just be careful not to forsake all the little victories in favour of the big kill, because sometimes the prey is more elusive than you think. Properly distilled into an appropriate English idiomatic expression: Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.

My rose in this case, in fact the entire reason that I decided to pen this, is hamburger night. Here I am, a few months shy of a quarter century, a world traveller, and still I am childishly excited about the fact that the cafeteria will be serving hamburgers for dinner. Hamburguesas completas. They aren’t the best burgers in the world, certainly nothing to write home about (as the expression goes) but it would seem that is exactly what I am doing. But I do enjoy them, and they are certainly better than some of the dishes they serve here. But if I liked everything, then it would become boring… I wouldn’t have hamburger night as a small victory then. That would mean I would have to find something else to write about, like the 750 meters I swam today. Or my trip to the supermarket to buy air freshener – my last one dried up over the break.

Must go now… I have a small victory to eat. ;)

Written by Colin Bate