Little Things Mean A Lot

I was very depressed the day after our Presidential election, but as the world hasn't ended, I decided to make a note of the small things in life that I truly enjoy....
    Yesterday morning it was 31 degrees outside when I left to take care of the family pets on my morning pet run- and I was extremely happy that the car I have to drive for the next week has heated seats.  I haven't, before, truly appreciated this small piece of engineering brilliance - but to have the small of my back, as well as my bottom and thighs warmed by the seat, instead of feeling like very cold leather, was a true gift.  (Guess I'm getting old...)
    The joyful sounds of small birds in the trees and bushes is glorious.  Besides the chirps of the sparrows, there were chickadees singing, robins singing, jays and rufous-sided towhees, the coos of pigeons and doves, the small clicks and keeps of the nuthatches and woodpeckers, and the hoots of a pair of great horned owls.  And to that the chattering of the squirrels, and I'm in heaven.
    The fact that the coyotes seem to have left the neighborhood again is bringing back the fox population.  I saw one two days ago in a neighbor's yard.  And I saw something run across the road Friday morning, but wasn't sure I trusted my eyes.  In speaking with my niece, she, too, saw a mink in the area.  It stood erect upon a woodpile and surveyed it's surroundings, while she was less than 20 feet away from it.
     Having my female cat, Lovey, clean my face each night when we go to bed may not be someone else's idea of a good thing, but it means she loves me and accepts me as I am, no questions asked.  Need, my male cat, just wants to be loved and patted and scratched, and then he lies down upon my hand, pinning me in place, while he slowly blinks his big eyes at me.  I always blink back at him, slowly.
     Having 20 different families trust me to keep their homes, pets, and vehicles safe is almost frightening, but also makes me feel very humble about being allowed into their lives.  I consider most of my clients as friends, and not really as an employer.  I am trusted to make good decisions regarding their pets - health care, food, discipline and veterinary visits.  Most of my friends hand me their car keys when they leave, and say, just replace the fuel you use...  That is trust.  But I feel that taking care of the critters is a responsibility that is the utmost in trust.
     Since Beatrice and I became sharers of a two-bedroom apartment, both of us have more money to spend.  We used to count pennies, and hope we'd have enough to feed ourselves at the end of the month.  Now, sharing, an apartment, we each have an extra $300 per month, and neither of us worries about whether we'll have groceries that will last until the next paycheck.  (And we both love the cats - the cats are fed before we feed ourselves.)  But it's nice not to have to worry about whether you can only eat toast for the next week at the end of the month.
    Bea has had the flu since Tuesday, and it was nice to be able to give her a get-well card, and a little stuffed toy (from the cats), and prepare her favorite meal for her yesterday.  And we both felt a little bit of pride when we looked into the freezer compartment and saw that it was packed with easily prepared meals, if we didn't feel like cooking.  That really felt nice.
     I always try to say "please" and "thank you" to anyone I speak with that assists me in any way.  If I meet someone on the sidewalk, or they catch my eye on the bus, I always greet them with a smile.  So many people these days are  so inwardly tuned, with their smart phones and i-pads, that they no longer notice other inhabitants of the planet...  I just try to be nice, and admit them into a small piece of humanity, daily.