I used to hang out at my grandma’s house fairly often as a kid. We moved around a lot, but we wound up back in Indiana more often than not… usually when we were “in country,” so to speak, I’d be able to spend a lot of time with Grandma.

Whenever I’d spend a weekend over with her, we’d head out to a discount store to pick up suncatcher kits – uber cheesy, but TONS of fun. We’d paint all afternoon – everything from crosses to flowers to unicorns to rainbows.

I had a love/hate relationship with the rainbows, my friends. I could never get the paint to go where I wanted, but Grandma would help me out every time. No matter how many times she had to reach over and guide my hand, she’d get it to look how I thought it should look. Looking back, I realize she managed to persuade me that just about anything actually looked good, as long as I did it myself. Grandma’s suncatchers always looked 3,000 times better than mine. I loved the way her paintings came out, but Mom always said mine were awesome too. ;o)

The moral of said story? Grandma understood the value of a routine. She knew, be it a learned lesson or something more intrinsic, that memories were built from moments. I knew basically what to expect at her house and looked forward to it with TONS of anticipation! Creating a loving home can be based as much on routine as it is on spontaneous affection and activities.

Every night after we’d set our masterpieces to dry, we’d head back to the “tv room” with an orange and some napkins. The only time I ever had oranges at night was at Grandma’s house. She’d peel ‘em and give me “special” segments that were “just right” for me… I always think of her when I peel an orange and I smile.

Something so small and mundane can have a massive impact. It might be good advice to avoid sweating the small stuff, but lemme tell ya, that sweat is more than worth it sometimes.