Story Play | Little Moments Kick Off

Welcome to the last Story Play week for 2023!

You can check out our previous Story Play weeks from this year here. Story Play will return in 2024 with the themes of Day In The Life™, Love Story, Food, and Read. Look for details at the beginning of the year. 

For the last Story Play this year we are focusing on the lens of Little Moments/Little Things.  

The little moments are the tiny pieces of good stuff in our lives. Sometimes they are things, experiences, moments that other people might dismiss or not recognize as a gift. As memory keepers we are given the opportunity to be the people that both pay attention and document the little moments that all come together to make up the actual bulk of our lives.

As I started thinking about what I'd like to share this week related to little moments I kept coming back to the concepts of recognizing, elevating, and documenting/celebrating the details of everyday life. Many of you reading this right now are already adept and practiced at both looking for and capturing these pieces of your story and to others of you this might be a newer concept. 

(1) Recognize + Elevate: The first step in this process is deciding that you want little moments to be a part of your memory keeping. Once you set that as an intention you can begin the practice of paying attention. The more you start to recognize little stories happening around you the more you will be able to add these to your scrapbooking adventures. When you start identifying the little moments you are immediately elevating them from a mundane/ordinary piece of your day to a recognition that these are the things that make up the bulk of our lives. 

(2) Document/Celebrate: To me, documenting a little moment is the act of celebrating it. We are making something that might have happened in an instant concrete through the act of photographing or writing it down. You might add little moments to your weekly pocket scrapbooking or you might create an entire layout around one little moment or you might take photos of a bunch of little moments/things and bring them all together on one page. 

Little moments/things might be: 

• a thought (one that sticks around or one that is fleeting)
• a feeling (one that sticks around or one that is fleeting)
• an overheard conversation
• a note from a friend
• text messages
• foods you like or dislike
• routines/daily rhythms
• what you are reading, watching or listening to
• a tree outside your window
• walking your dog or snuggling with your grouchy cat
• how you wake up
• the way you take coffee

So much of capturing and documenting little moments is about rooting yourself in the present moment. It's about living with your eyes and your heart wide open in order to be a witness to this glorious event called life with all the highs and lows and moments in between.

This week we are documenting + celebrating little moments. For the next three days I'll be sharing a prompt a day here on the blog to encourage you to document some little moments in your life right now. On Friday you are invited to join me for a community zoom call. Details below. 

JOIN ME ON FRIDAY FOR A ZOOM CALL

Join me on Friday, November 17th at 10am Pacific for a community zoom call. This call will be recorded + archived on a blog post. 

• Topic: Little Moments Zoom 
• Meeting Time: Nov 17, 2023 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
• Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82563694148?pwd=SmY9eopoRJQbQmcIt6pCryQbXWag1a.1
• Meeting ID: 825 6369 4148 Passcode: 529367
• Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/khH3te2KV

LOOKING AT LITTLE MOMENTS DOCUMENTED

To kick off this week I decided to do a couple walkthroughs of past compilation albums and talk about the little moments: 

LITTLE MOMENTS IDEAS FROM THE COMMUNITY

Last week our team surveyed our Craft The Story Facebook Group with two questions: 

1. Do you have a favorite "little moment" or a list of little moments/little things you love to document?
2. Why do you think it's important for you to capture/document the little things in your life? 

I decided to share all the comments here because I loved reading what people had to say. Feel free to respond to those questions in the comments if you'd like to share!

LINDA: Sunsets, clouds, drinking cup of coffee in a.m., flowers seen on my walk, wildlife in yard.

LISA: I know Susan @littlethingsbigdays takes photos of her passenger seat from time to time to show her errands etc. I love taking photos of my feet in different places because it tells a story of where I have been during the week.

AMBER: I love how one memory can make you think of lots of little moments over the years. They all add up to a full life.

SHANNON: For me it’s important to document the little things for two reasons: because things change so quickly, even things that I wouldn’t expect to change; and because when I am having hard days, or big things in my life are difficult, there are still ALWAYS little things to be grateful for and to remind me of all the seen and unseen good in my life.

STACY: I document the little moments when my kids and grand kids : 1. draw me on their magma doodles or iPads as I like to see how they see me or their selves 2. Bedtime / story times or bath times to see them grow. 3. Baking / cooking nights … and how we interact 4. Family game nights 5. Movie nights . 6. Playing with them and their favorite toys - it’s so funny when I look back with my grandkids and even my adult kids and see how much these things change … toys turn to coffee hot coco dates. These are just a few of the little moments I capture on the random as they change with the seasons and I like to go back and see how they change and they grow .

KIRSTEN: Talk time with the kids in the car // things that happen on the stairs // walks in the neighbourhood // season changes // weather // tv series // a song

MORGAN: Overheard conversations (esp with talkative littles!), text messages, lists (e.g., to dos, grocery lists, etc), "glimmers" (opposite of triggers, small things that spark joy/peace).

SHARON: I document my dozens of orchids when they bloom. It’s fun watching how each one blooms the same time of year as the previous years. As they grow they usually have more blooms than the year before. It’s so much fun getting to know each orchid by documenting them.

PATTY: Our daily trip to the dog park. We see the same people and dogs and it’s such a nice start to our day.

PAT: I love to find random toys in my house after my grandkids go home and take photos of them. I especially like to catch them when they are lined up in a row or sitting around like they are in a deep conversation

JENNIFER: My favorite little moments are funny conversations between myself and my husband. I like to write them like a screenplay and add bits and pieces like facial expressions or how he Stomps into a room. When I go back and read them I always laugh and I don't always remember that moment unless I write it down. By writing it in that way I can almost transport myself back to that moment and relive it. And laugh.

AMY: When my kitty chooses to come sleep on my lap. When hubby looks at me and I KNOW we are thinking the same thing and will discuss it later. When I notice nature. When that song plays.

LAUREN: Definitely funny and clever things my grandsons say and do. I keep a running list in the Notes on my phone so I can remember. Also, I take a lot of photos and tend to try to capture faces and expressions, but my daughter-in-law is SO good at stepping back and catching moments in time. I love those little captures that tell a story! Her photography style helps me remember to zoom out and look at the bigger picture sometimes. It can really make a difference.

MAGGIE: I love documenting my 3 year old grandson’s “little” things! Like their shoes or their church bow ties or tricycles… even little phrases they say. I’ve learned how fast they grow up and those little things and little stories (memories) are something worth preserving.

PAMELA: I like a retrospective & present moment. I do a "This is me now" layout & use the same 10 statements. i.e. fave song now; how I'm doing physically, emotionally, my weight, fave catch phrase... the little things. The flip through after a few years is really fun & sometimes surprising. It also forces me to use a current photo.

CARLA: What the grandkids are into at the moment- trucks, chickens, farm equipment, etc. Words they mispronounce. Everyday things I find cleaning out my parents' house.

KIM: When I feel a little sad or discomfort and I make a picture of something’s little and I write done a story of it, it helps me to feel better. It could be my animals or a bird, flower or simple a nice cup of tea…Like a therapie.

AMANDA: Interaction with my dog during the day, watching birds at the water bowl, changing seasons are all little moments I like to capture to serve as gratitude for being alive.

HEATHER: I always take pictures of my food. I don’t know why. I guess to help me remember what I ate. But I do it almost every day. I also often take pictures of the books I’m reading. And I take pictures of my kids and dog every day and my parents when I can catch them. Because you just never know.

LISA: Lunchtime walks with my husband during the workweek to get a break from the computers.

CORISSA: The way my kids pronounce or say things. "rainbrella instead of umbrella". Photos of shoes in the pile. And hands: the size, the dirtiness, the sunspots.

TEKA: I often take screenshots to remember a little game or post on social media. Little glimpses into how I spend my little free time.

NADINE: I like to “reverse engineer” what most people consider the BIG moments . . . I know we all want to document our kids opening birthday presents and blowing out the candles on their cake or waiting for the bus on the first day of school. I always told my girls I go behind the scenes to document when I was running from store to store trying to get them the newest Nintendo DS when they were in elementary school. . . or when I was finishing baking the pumpkin and apple pies at 3:00 am on Thanksgiving morning! These are the stories I like to tell them because they are some of my “regular mom duties” that they didn’t witness but are part of our family heritage. I also want them to learn to pay attention to “the little things” because they are often some of the sweetest moments of our lives. . . Like listening to them giggle while all three were in the bathtub together or when we were trying to assemble a shoebox diorama (boy, that’s an old word!) and couldn’t get the glue to stick!

AMBER: Commute to work. Daily cup of coffee. Soft slippers. Fresh cut flowers. A rainy day. A stack of books.

JANET: Seeing a rainbow after a storm; unexpected hugs from my grandchildren; watching a chipmunk or groundhog pop it’s head up; a phone call or text from a friend; a beautiful sunset; It’s important to document these moments as time passes so quickly and things never remain the same. Documented memories have the ability to take you right back to that time and to evoke a lot of emotions.

LAURA: Since my recent hip replacement my “little things” are putting on my own socks, taking a shower without an audience, walking, picking something up off the floor, depending on others for rides to my therapy, not being able to go to the grocery store and pick out my own groceries, being at the mercy of others for my meals, while I am thankful for all the people in my life that helped me out I hate the fact that I have taken all those “little things “ for granted.

KATE: What’s in my purse, my granddaughter getting bangs, my Starbucks runs.

SASCHA: I really often document little moments about my dog. I always have a lot of pictures of her, but generally not big stories. So the little moments are her enjoying a play in the dog park with a 3.5 month old pup and being pooped out after, her new agility tunnel to play in or how I found a local farm that sells eggs and meat for her food that we make ourselves.

KATINA: I read once that when you stop and notice something beautiful or something that you’re grateful for they’re known as glimmer, which are the opposite of triggers. So if you struggle with different things, and you find that we are triggered the best way to combat that is by stopping and taking in the little moments. Such as noticing a beautiful tree, in the fall, or a beautiful sunset, or being grateful for the rain. Something as little as taking an extra moment to pause while you take your first sip of coffee and enjoying it. All of those things are glimmer, and those will combat the triggers, and you will have more ways to overcome. I loved the way this was put… I am in love with little moments. I think they are so much better than big moments. I feel like it’s the little moments that shaped so much of our lives. Since I read that I am much more vocal about the little moments. If I’m driving in the car with my kids, I will vocalize a glimmer that I’m having. So that they are able to see those and gravitate towards the glimmer !!!!!

NOLANA: New words and conversations with my 2 year old. That moment when I make my first coffee of the day after drop-offs. Morning solo walks or runs - that first breath of fresh, crisp air. Pure laughter. A meal that hits your soul at its core. Dancing to music that you're hearing for the first time and have fallen in love with it. Moments of bursting in to song.

JOELLE: Family dinners…We are so busy we don’t always have them. Cherished when we do. Sitting and waiting while kids are in activities. Grocery shopping. Quiet evenings at home. Lazy days. Everyone just doing own thing around the house. Yard work.

CYNTHIA: Thanks to Week in the Life, I take pictures of “ambience” like a screenshot of what I’m listening to on my phone, or the piles on the stairs, or what’s on our kitchen counter. I love those little windows of our daily life that don’t usually merit a photo. It’s something you see everyday but don’t notice. So it helps shift your perspective. It can also take you right back to the moment. Amy Poehler in her book Yes Please said something like I believe I can time travel and then described experiencing a flash to the future looking at her kid’s face, or a flash to the past when she sees an echo of something her kid used to do years ago. I believe I can time travel when I see my ambience photos from years ago.

SONIA: The little things matter and are most likely the ones I’ll forget therefore important for me to snap and document as often as possible.

DONNA: I try to capture my husband in action-doing what he does to make our home a home - mowing the lawn, raking the leaves, cooking, doing dishes, etc. I also love photos of him walking the grandkids to school (shot from behind). These shots remind me to be grateful for the little things in life.

DEEVONNA: My 5 year old grandson recently passed away from brain cancer, and I have so many pictures of the little messes, I call them “signs of Ezra Blue.” His tub toys and baby soap, little shoes by the door, medical tape, a pile of folded clothes. Those things I’ve documented as “little moments” that are actually monumental moments.

MEGAN: Because life is mostly a series of little moments only occasionally punctuated with big moments. If we only look for the big moments, we miss out on a lot of tiny magical moments and ordinary moments that are really the fabric of life.

LAURA: Random things that make me smile. Like right now I’m looking at my 15 year old daughter who just found out she likes reading - a lot - in the last year. I’d probably sneak a pic of her sitting in the chair reading. Any time my kids are laughing. Weird things I find around the house - like why is there something in the bathroom that clearly doesn’t belong there. Sunrises and sunsets. All day every day. I could probably make an album of all the times I’ve taken those types of photos. Pets doing snuggles with each other or humans. Cool flowers. Every time my dad comes to his grandkids games or events. I always take a photo of that.