Licking the Spoon

There are some days when I find myself thinking.... "Am I getting all that I can out of today?" Truthfully, I don't know if I can ever truly know the answer to that question, but I do know that there is nothing more satisfying than going to bed at night thinking that I got the best of every situation, found the good in every nook and cranny, and made my lemons into lemonade (or sometimes just enjoyed the delicious lemonade that came pre-made!)

I had some bananas that were a little overripe so I decided to make banana bread today. With milk chocolate chips. YUM. Not exactly within my "healthy eating" plan, but I'll just have a couple pieces and then make Hubby take it to work :) One thing I have tried to stop myself from doing over the years, but decided that it's not worth it to battle with myself over it, is licking the spoon (and depending on how sweet deprived I am, sometimes the entire bowl). In all honesty, I think licking the spoon has become one of my favorite things about baking/cooking/whatever. Taking that minute or two to really lick all of the gooey goodness from the spoon and having nothing else to think about but that is really something special. I know, I sound so dumb right now, but I don't care! 

As I was licking my spoon (or in this case my spatula) I was thinking about how a lot of times we miss the opportunity to "lick the spoon" in our lives. How many wonderful moments, big or small, pass by without us truly savoring them and getting all that we can out of them? Usually the bigger moments we focus on making sure we get all that we can, but what about the small things? What about those moments when the unexpected goodness just pops out of nowhere? Do you take time to enjoy it? Do you lick every last morsel from the spoon? I know that sometimes I don't. 

Picture via mytworoads.com

Thinking back over the past year and almost a half that I have had with my amazing Hubby, all of the "big moments" are truly amazing and I treasure every last one of them... but there are little moments, unexpected moments of goodness, that make me so glad I took time to lick the spoon. Times like cuddling during a rainstorm and listening to the rain, or having a giant restling match/tickle fight on the floor, or laying on our backs while Brandon patiently tries to teach me Spanish, or those gentle moments when we look into each other's eyes and feel the same way we did when we were married in the temple. Or things with my sisters like Chloe coming to me for comfort after a bad day and sitting on my lap and letting me cuddle her (something she hasn't done in a VERY long time), sitting on the couch and listening to amazing Caitlin sing and play her guitar, or laughing so hard I cry with Caitlin and my Mom at 2:00 in the morning as we're helping Caitlin finish some homework. None of those moments were planned. None of them were expected. But they are some of the most precious moments to me in the world. 

There are opportunities everywhere, everyday, in which we are given the opportunity to lick the spoon, to slow down and enjoy something small. Those moments pass so quickly, but the simple, pure joy they bring is some of the sweetest stuff you'll ever get your hands on.