The Small Victories

When I sit down and think about it, it's the mini-victories in my life - the ones that sometimes happen every day and take place in mere seconds - that have come to make up my proudest moments. Maybe I'm just overly competitive, or maybe - I'm not alone. I'm willing to bet the latter.

The other day, I had about half an hour to spare and found myself sifting through racks of discounted clothing at one of my favorite stores. It was one of those circular racks, and as I neared the end of my circumference, there was a woman going the opposite way and rapidly nearing me as she weeded through the apparrel. We both saw each other, and as we got closer and closer to colliding, the question presented itself - who's going to have to step back, and around whom? I stayed strong and increased my sifting speed. She took one look at me, and quickly folded. Small Victory.

Not surprisingly, a good amont of my mini-victories also revolve around driving. Sliding in just before the opposing car to snag the front-row parking spot is gratifying obviously, but also...weaving through traffic, finding the small holes that set you in front of the pack, and then catching the light just right to allow you to keep on your merry way, and leaving the others in the dust. Huge Victory.

The flipside of this scenario is NOT catching that light, and ending up waiting at the light with the others, nothing gained and all the shame in the world. The key is to not look up, unphased as if nothing devastating had just taken place.

And then, there's the victory of the race home. Picture two roomates departing from the same location, and selecting different routes home. The point in which you cross paths again on the journey and wind up visibly in front - triumphant. In fact, this specific scenario merits a victory fist pump out the window, which I generally adhere to.

As the photo technician at CVS lives by, "it's the little things in life, ma'am." I think yes.