With a little help from my friends

The coldness of today's weather caught me by surprise. Sure, I knew it was in the teens, and thus not exactly appropriate for shorts and sandals, but leaving work I could feel the chill seeping into my bones.

Before heading out this evening I traded my ISE5 scarf, which I've been wearing, for a bulkier one I knitted myself early last year. The garter stitching has stretched so much that I need to wrap it around twice to keep it from nearly dragging on the ground, although that's a a bonus feature on days like this. (Still, I need another scarf.) I put my hat on and was now prepared to face the cold.

There were a couple other things keeping me warm too. Earlier in the day I got an e-mail from a friend who received one of the many seaman's caps I made for Christmas gifts. He said the hat was great and that he's been using it in the frigid spell that has descended on this area. (Guess I better finish the one I'm knitting for his wife.)

This afternoon I had a friend pop in for an unexpected chat via one of the top 51 things in the world (2007). I'd been going a little nuts at the office because I was feeling like I couldn't stem the tide of all the work that needs to get done in the near future. The chat was a needed diversion and put the workload in perspective.

What I'm getting at is that it was the small gestures that meant a lot. A short note of thanks and a brief conversation to see what's going on were highlights of the day, things that made me stand up a bit taller. It is easy to feel the necessity to look for or supply the grand statement, the big arm-waving call for attention, that the little things go unseen or undelivered.

There's a time and place for the large gestures, but they are anomalies in everyday life. It's the small kindnesses and courtesies that hopefully maintain the steady pulse of day-to-day existence rather than relying on the defibrillating charge from loftier displays of generosity. They're less expensive to give and likely to be more treasured in the long run. I need to remember that as much as anyone when it comes to giving and receiving them. I'm glad today's reminders came the way they did.