The Little Things

Hi writers,

Last week I was talking with a writer, someone who has taken a few classes of mine and who is in the process of putting together several essays for a memoir-in-progress.

"There are so many things I never would have written if it hadn't been for your classes,” she said. I was thrilled to hear that, but I knew there was something more she wanted to say.

I could see her thinking for a minute in her Zoom rectangle and then she said, "Of course, when you're looking back on your life, you'll always remember the big things, but it's the little things that make life so interesting and fun and different ... and if you don't write those down you might forget them."

Later that week, in the Durham Writers Salon, I offered the following prompt: Write about a time someone said I'm sorry. I could see contemplative looks on faces as everyone prepared to write, jostling their memory and getting into a headspace where they were ready to think about stringing words together.

When we were ready to share, one of the writers in the salon said: "Your prompt stopped me in my tracks at first. I didn’t know where to start. But when I stopped overthinking it, I remembered, oh, I don't have to write about some big thing. Saying sorry can be a little thing too. It can be a million little apologies."

a little apology
a bird who visits your feeder every day, without fail
a smile that nobody saw
the coat you can't bear to give to goodwill
a necklace that reminds you of home

Let’s notice the little things this week, the little things that make up a life.