My Mr. Snowman

When my grandchildren were here for Christmas they built me the most wonderful snowman whose smiling face and large carrot nose greeted me each morning. I’m not ashamed to say we were on speaking terms and I often found myself reminding him of the wonderful children who had made him and how thankful I was for them and how thankful he should be for them. But with the sun and rain the last week Mr. Snowman is now only a large snowball. It is very sad to see him melt away, but he has brought me such joy.

This has made me think about how simple things—like a snowman—can make such a difference in our lives. When we surround ourselves with little things that remind us of the good times in life it makes more good times. So many people are caught up in having a “Pottery Barn Home” where the décor is professional looking and everything matches perfectly and is the latest style. While that may be the stuff magazine covers are made of, it isn’t as comforting as a home where everywhere you look there are reminders of the good things in life instead of worldly success. A happy home is clean, neat, beautiful, but an archive of happiness. Those things can be temporary, like Mr. Snowman, or they can be permanent but by surrounding ourselves with reminders of the good moments in life we extend those moments and fill our hearts with goodness.