Lasting Memories: Noticing the Small Moments// picture of a little girl hugging someone

Lasting Memories

Melissa Gosselin

Happy Wednesday, everyone! And to all the American readers — Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you’re able to eat delicious food and to enjoy time with loved ones. In celebration, I thought I would focus on gratitude . . . on the little things that energized me this week. The act of writing these blogs has helped me immensely when it comes to noticing small, quieter moments of connection. 

I realized how powerful gratitude could be on the train the other day. I live in the outskirts of Montreal, and I was going into the city. I was sitting on the second level, which is the quiet zone, and it was early in the morning so the sun hadn’t risen yet.  It was such a rare moment of stillness that I decided to do a loving-kindness exercise. I went over each of the people in my life I was grateful for, allowed warm feelings to wash over, and I sent them well-wishes. By the time I got to my stop I was in such an amazing mood, so alert, so in-tune with the life happening around me. 

Another thing I remember being especially grateful for this week is the time I get to spend with kids — because they make you hyper-conscious of the fact that things are always changing, and that every moment is sacred. My friend has a three year old daughter (let’s call her Charlotte), and every time I see her she’s different. She’s learned new words, she’s grown a little taller or she has new interests. One week her favourite movie is Frozen, the next she’s obsessed with Zorro. There are also small moments at the park — like when she finally crossed the monkey bars after being too scared the last time we were there together. 

Charlotte’s small displays of honest appreciation are what fill me up the most. Last week I slept over, and my friend and I were up about twenty minutes before everyone else. We were having coffee when Charlotte burst into the living room. “Momma, can I go wake Melissa?” She was so excited that she hadn’t even opened her eyes yet, and she didn’t see me sitting on the couch. My friend smiled at her, pointed towards me and said, “Look, she’s right there.” And next thing I knew, Charlotte was on my lap, and we read her favourite books and re-enacted Moana all morning.

I’m also just grateful to be able to meet up with old friends, to be able to spend time with my family after so many years living abroad. I was usually able to travel back to Canada for the big things, but what I was missing were these smaller moments: conversations about day-to-day challenges, sharing recipes, talking about our favourite vacations and parenting strategies.  

Are there any small moments that you're grateful for this week? Maybe a quiet morning coffee with a loved one, or an uplifting conversation with someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time? If you do, please don’t hesitate to comment below! 

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