[Kätzchen]

For me, the little things in life are:

Quiet mornings spent gazing out toward the west side of life where I often times see the smoke rise from my neighbor's chimney and the pine trees that sway in the gentle wind or hear the chimes on my patio deck or hear birdsong, no matter the time of day.

When my kids come to me for help or to share something about their day or when my children do something totally unexpected and thoughtful for me - which always makes me smile and feel very special, since I am their mother.

When my mother does something totally unexpected, too. Like the time she called me on her way home from work to tell me about a dear friend who passed away from brain cancer - my closet childhood friend, Ingrid. The way she told me little things that she was finally able to talk about (because Ingrid's partner called her out of the blue, unexpectedly). This was a "Little, Big" moment in that it's taken the better part of 30 years for my mother to realise that I am who I am and not some person who deserves to suffer family ridicule or social shame or be discounted as a person in society because I'm not of the heterosexual persuasion. Over the years, I have shed slowly in layers who I am not only to my own children but to my own family and friends who I work with or know outside of work or even to this community.

Sometimes it is the big things about me that I share so little about and mostly the reason I am so protective about who I am is the tremendous level of rejection I have suffered through on my own, over the years. The "Little,Big" things for me are often found right here in our community because I learn to trust people slowly and reveal myself in shades of who I am. That's a huge privilege for me to 'grow up' here and be counted a friend by many of you. I don't take any of you for granted. And for that pleasure, I am deeply grateful to be here counted among us all.