“Daddy home!”

I heard my son yelling from the living room as I was cooking dinner.

I set the spatula down and ran in to look at him.

His eyes widened and a huge smile came across his face.

And he said it again, “daddy home.”

The garage door closed and the foot steps started up the staircase.

He opened the door and our son went running over to him with open arms to give him a big teddy bear hug.

I was instantly flooded with emotion and tears started to fill my eyes.

It’s not that my husband was gone for a very long time, it was just a typical day at work.

It was the fact that our son heard the garage door opening and knew that sound meant that daddy was home.

At almost 10 years old, this is a huge deal.

He is becoming more aware of his surroundings and he’s noticing things he never did before.

He’s recognizing new sounds, becoming more familiar with things around him and he’s communicating that to us.

This is such a monumental life skill that I think so many of us take for granted.

And these moments can be easily overlooked in the monotony of everyday life.

But if we take a step back and really pay attention to details in the moment, hopefully we won’t miss these special times worth celebrating.

It’s moments like these that make me truly appreciate the small things in life.

Because in the end, they really are the big things that matter the most.