Little by little

It doesn't seem like that many years ago I was leaving the one-room District 2 school house and headed to high school. Then four short years later I was graduating from high school headed to McCook Junior College. Two years later I was marrying a young gal who grew up north of Ashby and Hyannis by the name of Marge King. Forty-seven years later, here we are. Some didn't think we'd make it. They were sure we'd end up divorced and each going our own way, but that didn't happen.

Looking back it doesn't seem like we should be married for 47 years or that I should be 69 years old, but both are true. Where has time gone? Well one thing for sure, it happened a "little at a time." Little by little the years have passed, and here we are today. Doesn't seem like our boys should be in their 40s, but they are. Little by little the years have passed since both of them were born in the '70s.

But that's how much of life and things happen -- little by little. Back in high school I weighted 165 pounds and was fit and trim. Not so anymore! Little by little or a few ounces here and there add up over the years and, voilá, here I am -- short and chubby. Hate to say I'm fat. Chubby sounds better. The doctor puts obese on his paperwork, but that sounds horrible. Chubby wins my vote. But it happened little by little.

A friend of mine a good while ago lost, I'll bet ... 50 pounds. I couldn't believe how much weight Tom lost. I asked him how he did it, and I was surprised by what he said. He quit eating chips at bedtime. He said for years he'd eat potato chips right at bedtime, and little by little he gained a bunch of weight. Doesn't take much when it's spread over years to make a huge difference. A regular soda or a sweet tea or a candy bar a day amounts to a lot of sugar by the end of a year.

At one of the men's breakfasts I go to, Stan shared how it's been four years since he quit smoking. I know it hasn't been easy for him. Probably tempted to pick it up again, but he hasn't. He shared how much money he has saved since he stopped, and it's something like $7,000 or $8,000. Pretty darn awesome. If Stan had taken the money he was spending on smokes and thrown it in a coffee can, he could take a really nice vacation. When one spends the money a day at a time or a week at a time, it doesn't seem like much, but over a year or four it really adds up.

Since we have a few cows, we have fences. A corner post is a bigger post, and we bury it in the ground a lot deeper than all the other posts. We tamp that post in real good so it's rock solid. Then we stretch usually four or five strands of wire to the post. Big corner post didn't move a bit. But you come back in a year, and that big corner post is leaning just a tad. Five years down the road, it's leaning even more. Twenty years later, and the wires are all lose and the post is leaning a bunch. Just a little pressure over years and years pulled that old corner post over.

All of us have that friend who likes to swear now and then. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but they use words that just aren't right. We just overlook it and go on. But the real truth is, if we aren't careful, we'll let them influence us rather then the other way around. Just a little influence spread out over months makes a big difference.

When we were going to school in Wilmore, Kentucky, there was one grocery store that didn't sell alcohol or tobacco products. They chose to not have any of these products in the store. Kind of unique to say the least, and refreshing. Those of us who shopped there noticed the absence of the products. We have become so used to having alcohol and smokes in all the stores, we kind of think it's normal and it is today. Normal, but not right.

Growing up there was little if any cussing on TV. The commercials were clean. Today there doesn't seem like there is a standard whatsoever. From cuss words to gross behavior, the sky is the limit. Everything is advertised. It all started with just a little here and a little there, and over time here we are. Maybe we complained back then, but in time we stopped complaining and just let it pass. We can blame TV, but the real culprit is us. We grew complacent and just let it pass.

Somewhere I remember reading that to start or end a habit it takes about six weeks. Doesn't sound like that long, but that's what the experts say. Let's say you sit down in the morning and read just a little from the Good Book. May take 15 minutes, so it won't take that long.

Might talk to your spouse and kids and those you spend time with. Share with them you want to clean up your mouth. Tell them to call you out if you say something crude or offensive. You might even set up a foul-mouth jar and fine yourself every time you spout off. Just a little work will make a significant difference in how we talk in a month or two.

Scroll down your contacts in your cell phone until you come across one you haven't talked to in a good while. Give them a call, just to visit. I will almost bet when they answer your call the first thought that will come to their minds is what you want. Now what does he or she want? Just a little short call might make a big difference in a friend's life. Little by little, make a difference.

Seems like once or twice a year our local pantry has a food drive, and they get some much-needed donations. But what if we decided to buy and donate, say, $5 worth of goods on a monthly basis? We won't even notice the $5 that we spend, but to those in need that might make the difference. If you have extra garden goodies, find someone who needs them. If you can't find someone, The Salvation Army takes garden goodies.

Little by little, make a difference in someone's life.