Gracias Por Todos

In a rare moment of quiet, the little boy climbs up beside me on the couch. Computer in my lap, I instinctively divert my attention to him. "What's up? Que pasa?" I ask him. He quickly wraps his little arms around me, brushes a delicate little boy kiss against my cheek, and softly whispers, "Gracias por todos." A split-second later, he's leaping off the couch to join his brother in running their customary laps through the halls of the house, and I'm left stammering, "De nada...," wondering what exactly I did to deserve this gratitude. One simple tear forms in my right eye.

There were many moments over the Thanksgiving holiday that I will remember fondly for years to come. Holiday decorating, puppy kisses, sunsets, piano concerts, fantastic meals... But it was this little boy's "thanks" that made it all make sense for me. I hadn't really done anything special for him - played with him in the park a little, listened to him recount stories about IncrediBoy (or something) and The Hulk...nothing that really demanded much of me. It occurred to me, though, that kids are blessedly immune from the complexity that makes adult life rich, but sometimes unnecessarily confusing. The small moments were more than sufficient for my young friend, just as they had been in making the week so special for me.

I realized then that the same simplicity applies to my logic when I thank someone. The things that we all do for each other on a daily basis may not shake the world, but each one that even minutely improves a life usually elicits a "thank you." The point is that we have no idea how our seemingly small actions impact those around us. Something that seems second nature to us - whether it's helping a little boy make it across the monkey bars or taking an hour out of the day to make it to lunch with a friend - might actually mean more than we know to someone else. Even as adults, the simple things still matter as much as they always have. Maybe we'd all be a little happier if we were able to clearly see how important the little things we do are in other people's lives.