The Little Things

Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by gilly in DREAM

5:10am. Feels like too little a night. Slumbered briefly from midnight, just a little sleep.

5:40. Taxi rings my doorbell. Too little time to get fully groomed, grab a little fruit, a little slice of Irish soda bread for later, kiss my sleeping son’s little neck, throw a little make-up on, whisper a little word to the cat. He only has one eye open.

“Starting your day or ending it?” I ask the taxi driver.

“I’m done,” he yawns, “you’re my last customer, I need to get a little sleep.”

I smile. A little difference between where each of us is, in the day.

6:00am. Brussels South station is a little spooky.

I dart into the first open shop, buy the FT. Hmm. Feels a little early to read anything too serious. Illy espresso bar looks open, I’ll have a little macchiato. “You’re my first coffee of the day, beams the barista.”

I feel a little special.

The train to Amsterdam is dark, a little too empty.

I read a little, make a little progress on my next book group novel, Let the Great World Spin, all about how the little choices, the little yes’s and no’s, the little shifts in perspective really do change the course of Life.

7:20am. Sunshine strikes through smudged glass. Just a little. But enough that I need to shade my eyes a little. Dutch countryside is peaceful, frosted, flat, of course. There are little canals delineating the fields. The train slows down a little, for no apparent reason. Except for me to see that there are little—very little—ducklings splashing in the canal nearest the train. Like a little free poetry.

Suddenly 9am. Only 9am, and I’m in a new country and city. All abuzz with movement, colors, possibility. Easy and simple. It’s the little things that make a new day.