Have Fun & Appreciate the Little Things

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault

Tessie

Yesterday was my birthday. Mom thought it was last week, so we ended up celebrating twice. Mom is a big proponent of celebrating birthdays and calls March our birthday month, because Mala’s birthday is on March 17. We get fancy treats on our birthdays and always get to go on a hike to celebrate. While Mom couldn’t hike with us this year because she’s still recovering from surgery, she made sure both of us felt extra special on our big days. We love all the attention and appreciate being fawned over.

Our parents are always sure that they play with each of us with our favorite toys. I like to play fetch with my frisbee, rubber ball, and stuffed octopus. Mala likes to chew on sticks and bones and has a couple of favorite squeaky toys. Mala will play tug of war with me when she’s in the mood. Mom and Dad take note of what makes each of us happiest and are sure we get time to do those things regularly. They do the same for the cats. Kali loves to play with shoelaces and get into empty boxes, and Mateo loves fuzzy balls. They both like catnip!

There’s no shortage of fun in our household. Mom and Dad even have songs picked out for each of us, and sing to us when those songs come on when we’re all in the kitchen making dinner. Mom tells Dad that he would be bored without her since she tends to be the catalyst for most of the laughter and general silliness in our home.

I’ll turn it over to Ella now to tell you about her favorite ways to have fun.

Ella

I really loved Christmas. Mom would always wrap at least a few things for me so that I could experience the joy of opening gifts, even if it was just a box of treats that I already knew about. The process of ripping the paper, and using my teeth to tear away anything that stood between me and my gift made me happy.

Even when it wasn’t Christmas, when packages arrived at the house, delivered by a man in a big brown truck, I always thought it was for me. Mom got such a kick out of watching how joyfully I would rip open boxes, that she would often take out whatever item had arrived for her, put a couple of treats in the box, and then let me at it. She was always sure to make it possible for me to open the box on my own without a ton of damage because she didn’t want to pick up a million pieces of cardboard off the floor after I was done. It made her laugh to watch me use my skills to get at whatever was inside the package.

This backfired on Mom a couple of times because I would get so excited that I would open boxes that weren’t intended for me. Grandma once sent Mom a wireless charger for Mom’s Bluetooth headphones, and I got to the box under the Christmas tree. In my efforts to get it open, my tooth went through the box into the charger and cracked it. Luckily it still worked.

Sometimes the packages that arrived were for me. I loved when my uncle would send me a new collar that he had made special just for me. He owns a business making dog and cat collars, leashes, and toys. I had quite the wardrobe, with a different collar for most holidays. I liked it when Mom would slip a brand new one over my head and tell me how pretty I looked.

Opening boxes and getting new collars were small things, but I appreciated them. It was kind of Mom to recognize how much joy it brought me, and to give me lots of opportunities to open gifts over our years together. And, sweet of my uncle to make all of my collars.

Humans often think that it’s the big things that will make them happy (like a fancy house, a high-paying job, or a new car). But, the reality is that happiness is made up of the small things - the moments that you’ll look back on someday and will still bring a smile to your face. What brings you joy, and is fun for you? Be sure to make time in your life for whatever it is.