Jenifer Beaudean

Seeker of Simplicity and Executive Coach

A Small Thing

New, short hair, Fall 2018

In October, I got my hair cut.

This might not seem like a big deal… and frankly I didn’t think it was a big deal either, but afterwards?

Let me explain.

I have very thick hair. For years, I’ve worn it long, to the middle of my back. And it was lovely. But the little house’s hot water tank holds only 15 gallons of hot water (A regular household hot water heater holds more like forty)! To wash my hair in fifteen gallons of water was a project. Every time. And I hated it.

After a year of this nonsense, I went to Meghan, my wonderful friend at Ricci’s Salon in Newtown, CT, and said, “That’s it. Cut it off.”

Big chunks of hair fell to the floor and I felt… oddly relieved.

So many times it occurs to me that it’s the small things that make or break a day, a week, an experience, or happiness. Cutting my hair made me, quite simply, happier. So, it really wasn’t a small thing.

I find this in Executive Coaching as well. In my experience as a coach, it often isn’t a big obstacle that is holding the client back – it’s a small thing – a bad habit, something they’ve ignored, or a set of assumptions that need to be reexamined.

And if a small thing is not attended to? Holy cow, it can become a huge thing.

A month ago, it all started with my husband’s inflamed elbow. MyUPSGuy noticed swelling on a Tuesday. Nothing big really. He went to Urgent Care and was diagnosed with bursitis in his elbow. Armed with a prescription for antibiotics, he came home, and all was well.

Two days later, however, all was not well. The inflammation had spread down his left arm into his hand, and up his arm to his shoulder. His arm was red, inflamed, and angry. What started as a small thing ended up a pretty big thing… a big infection. My husband landed in the hospital for six days. Finally, ten bags of I.V. antibiotics later, he was on the mend.

But it was a scare.

As MyUPSGuy went back to work, and life returned to normal, I realized that a small thing had mushroomed into a huge thing… and I was thankful to be reminded that health can be fleeting. That it’s not a given. It’s not a small thing — that it’s not something to be taken for granted or taken lightly.

Over the last year, downsizing to the “little house,” has been a “thinking experience.” Modifying our lives to a small house, for some reason, has made me consider what’s important and what’s not. And what I’ve found is that the small things are often the big things, and often surprisingly so.

After our scare, I am reminded about what’s truly important. The person I love. The time we have together. Our health.

Small things that, in fact, really aren’t small at all.

Blustery fall day at the little house, 2018

12 Replies to “A Small Thing”

  1. Love your hair, I swear it doesn’t look much different. Im thinking of doing the same, soon. Time to cut it off. LOL love and hugs. Nancy

  2. thanks for sharing, i’m so glad UPSguy is on the mend. ten bags of antibiotics is no joke. continue to take care of yourselves. and, love the locks.

  3. You are speaking very wise word! And you can tell those come from a deep place of understanding. And I ditto the other comments re: your hair cut and your upsguy!

  4. Your hair looks fabulous- So glad you embraced the change!
    Thrilled your UPSGuy is all better. A scare indeed.
    Cheers to a big holiday season to you both in your little ?!

    P.S- Love your stories and lessons learned.inspiring!

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