A Butterfly Beats Its Wings

I think life is made up of the small stuff. Really small stuff. Not so small that a butterfly flapping its wings in Tokyo will change your love life.

I read what Luke had to write about going to the funeral yesterday. He simply said yes to a friend and then got himself into an unknown situation which didn’t seem like the most pleasant one ever. He reported back later in the day and said that the funeral was about as awkward as he had anticipated, but there was one silver lining in the whole thing. He saw a beautiful girl. Now, he felt bad about even seeing this beautiful woman because it was the daughter of the deceased.

But me, I know small things make a big difference. It’s the small decisions in life, when made for the right reasons that change the actual course of life. I had been married for about two months. J asked me to go with him to practice. He was playing his guitar over at some people’s house and he didn’t know them all that well yet. He asked me once, and didn’t nag. I said no. What would I do there? Sit around and watch for a few hours. I had been to more than one rehearsal and they were boring for me. The musicians always had fun. Plus, I had just gotten home from work and the last thing I wanted to do was waste an evening sitting, doing nothing. But I got the impression that J really wanted me to go. I decided for some reason to be a dutiful wife, not do what I wanted to do, but do what my husband wanted me to do. I had absolutely no interest in going. It was a selfless act simply because I wanted to do the right thing. And the right thing in my mind was to take care of J in any way I could.

So I went. I was right. I was bored. He played for a few hours with the two singers. I read Dr. Seuss to the singers’ little girls for close to two hours. Then he was done. One of the singers started to engage us in seeming small talk. What do you guys do for a living? Do you like it? Blah Blah Blah. The truth of the matter was that I was in a job that paid $9 an hour that I loathed. The drive was long and I had to get up really, really early. Not fun. I conveyed my opinion about my current job without being too negative about it.

Apparently this guy was a manager for a large Fortune 500 Corporation. He said he would like to interview me, would I bring my resume by? Sure! Of course. A job that is 1 mile away vs. all the way downtown and not for a crappy, hole in the wall company.

To sum the situation up, I got the job because of my knack for reading Dr. Seuss. I ended up making over double what I was making before plus kickin’ benefits. They even paid for me to continue my college education. It enabled J and I to buy a house about 8 months later and it’s how I ended back in Sedona. That small decision to go with my husband to his practice changed the very direction my life was going. I would not have gotten that job otherwise. I was not qualified and it was one of those jobs that so many people apply for that you have to know someone on the inside to get it.

So, maybe Luke will see this girl out and about someday. And maybe she will remember he sang at her mom’s funeral. And maybe a conversation will ensue.

It’s the small things in life that count.