Little Steps

When I look back over these last few years, it seems as though my life has changed in very big ways--the regularity of work and of a daily sitter have come and gone, the routine of a household where people know what will happen daily has vanished. Some of the change has happened in big strokes--changing of schools, acquisition of new activities--but as I look back, I realize that most of the big changes have actually happened in little steps. A resume sent that resulted in a day of work, then two, then a bunch, my kids staying home alone while I ran a short errand, then a longer one, then was out most of the day. A skill explored out of curiosity, developed to get something done, and absorbed for real because it was suddenly a necessity.
 
While we tend to focus on the big things, like milestones and occasions, most of what happens in our lives happens in little steps, almost when we are not even paying attention. We take the little steps because they feel right, or necessary, in the moment, and before we know it, the little steps have become an actual journey, on a path we didn't even quite realize we were taking.
 
I suppose that the good thing about little steps is that we can manage them. They let us test the path before we commit to a longer walk than we can handle. And if we review them every so often, we can evaluate our path before we are too far along it to turn back. So I will continue to take the little steps. Because it feels as though I still have a long way to go.