The Little Things

The Little Things ©

By Michael Casey

Something reminded me of the Little Things the other day, and it surprized me, I thought I would not be affected by the little things but I was. I think I’ve told you about my mother’s coat hanger in the past, it was an old pink hued wooden coat hanger, which we broke, and it made our mother cry.

Why did she cry, because it was given to her by her own mother when she left Ireland for Smethwick and England in 1944 when the war was still on. The hanger was of sentimental value to our mum, we had probably broken it in 1968.

I’ve literally remembered just now how Speedy Carr at school grabbed a ruler from a desk and how play fighting I broke it.  So both of us got into trouble and the kid it belonged to cried, because his dad had given it to him, I can’t remember was his dad  deceased at the time. Mr Russell our form teacher gave us a page of lines as punishment. I’d forgotten that till right now, 40+ years on. The point being though, that small things can have tremendous meaning to people. So watch whose coat hanger or wooden ruler you break.

  

Christmas cards and Birthday cards can be a big big deal too, some say they are a waste of paper and an ecard is better. However your sisters or girlfriends might think otherwise, they don’t mind not getting a present because you are saving for your house, but if you don’t bother or forget to send them a card then they won’t speak to you for months. Simmering resentment until it all explodes at the next family get together. So my best advice is to get a diary and stick all the important dates in it.

Personally I won’t be upset if nobody comes to my grave, although some graveyards are like filing cabinets, and some are just shoddy, such as the one down the road from my house where the slots for ashes are like the leftovers from Screwfit.  I really would like to be buried at Trinity Rd church next door to the Sikh Temple in Smethwick, though it’s a closed graveyard and somebody important would have to get me buried there.

For some visits to graveyard are important, and the laying of flowers is a ritual that has to be followed. I’ve never been to by parents’ graveyard, apart from when I ended up there by accident. For my sister it’s a ritual she has to follow, my view is the Love is in you, they gave it to you, so there is no need to visit a graveyard.

There are habits we all have, some may almost be OCD, habits footballers have before they get on the pitch, but they must do things in a certain order to keep their equilibrium. It’s these little things which make the difference to all of us. 

Squeezing the tooth paste from the middle instead of the end is a major little thing that can bring strife to any household, so don’t do it and we’ll all stay smiling.