Small Things

Today I’m going to celebrate the small things with something rather significant, at least for me.

I had my first encounter with public speaking on Monday night. It was a small group, maybe thirty, all women, all of us there to promote ourselves to each other. There were massage therapists and realtors, insurance agents and jewelry designers, and me. We all were given three minutes to talk about ourselves and the business we were in. Everyone was very friendly, probably because we were all in the same boat; every eye would be on each one of us in our own turn.

Did I mention there was a timer? Yes, there was. When my time came, I did a brief introduction to myself and my book. Thankfully, I brought a copy of it with me, so I had something to hold in my shaking hands. After the intros I looked at the clock. Only a minute had gone by. I flipped open my book and read the first page or so. My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I could barely hear my voice. I glanced up again. Thirty Seconds left.

“Questions?” I asked, looking around the room for the first time.

Have you ever seen someone’s face when they were really into a story? That rapt look with gleamy eyes and an expectant smile? That was what met me. On every face. It was wonderful.

I hope all of your small things are really rather significant, too.

The question for Express Yourself this week is What questions do you hear all the time? That's an easy one- "Why?" (I'm a mom. I hear the question "Why?" a minimum of eighty-six times a day)