Imagine this series of events: On a rainy morning, someone wakes up and gets ready for work. While getting dressed, they glance out the window and decide it’s going to be a pretty good day. Not even ten minutes into the drive, a message comes through saying work has been delayed for a few hours. Suddenly, that coffee they decided not to get becomes part of the morning’s agenda.

They pull into the coffee shop, order a drink, and sit down. While waiting on their coffee, they try to figure out what they want to write for their newspaper column. Nothing seems like a good idea, and the motivation just isn’t there.

That’s when a barista walks over carrying two cups. A drink had been made in the wrong-sized cup, and rather than let it go to waste, they offer the extra. It’s a small thing. A simple mistake followed by a simple act of generosity. That’s when the writer realizes that the motivation is sitting right in front of them.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, that’s been my morning so far! You can call me lucky, but I’m thinking some good karma must have been coming my way for whatever reason.

What I’m getting at with this convoluted story is simply the little things. Nothing has to be magical and grandiose to leave a lasting memory with someone. It’s so easy to simply be present and experience the world just as it is.

Over Father’s Day weekend, my life seemed to be filled with little moments that were best enjoyed by slowing down and smelling the metaphorical roses.

Over the weekend, my mom, sister, and I went three ways on a turkey fryer for my dad. He hasn’t exactly been subtle about wanting one, and the timing seemed right, so we made the purchase.

The delivery was announced with dogs barking at the threat of a new mailman in our yard. If they could read, I would thank them for keeping me safe. Using my best acting skills, I acted confused that a package was sitting on the porch. After questioning everyone about what could possibly be in a box that size, I made my way outside and peered down at it. To fully drive home the point that this was something incredible, I acted like the box was a hundred pounds heavier than it actually was. Swearing and weaving through the doorway, I plopped it at my dad’s feet while making sure to hide the sticker with my name on it.

We’ve poked fun at him for years because of his persistent use of a letter opener, so staying on brand, I grabbed it and asked him to help me figure out what the heck was in this seemingly heavy box. With a few masterful swipes of the silver blade, my dad figured out the ruse.

He appreciated the gesture and is more than ready to fry a turkey as soon as possible.

Later in the weekend, I found myself at my girlfriend’s house. Her whole family was over and enjoying each other’s company. This is only the second time I’ve been around the full Taylor crew, and boy, was it memorable.

The little moment I’ll mention comes with a bit of context. During my first visit–as any boyfriend should have to go through–I ran the gamut of questioning and interviews with both brothers, a sister-in-law, and her parents. A certain sister-in-law named Dori seemed to enjoy the event just a bit more than everyone else, having prepared questions queued up on her phone.

During this second visit with everyone, I was quietly nudged to have some questions ready in response to Dori taking so much joy from the previous interrogation.

I made sure to do my due diligence and hype up my skills as an interviewer and skilled orator–thanks, newspaper, for those skills. She was rightfully terrified!

It ended up being more of a funny situation than anything else, with meaningful conversations eventually taking over and pushing the humor into the background. It was simply something enjoyable that we all experienced together.

It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as some of the stories you read in our paper; it just has to be memorable to you. It really is the little things that fill our lives with joy and purpose.

Until the next little moment–which yes, I’m waiting for another free coffee–I’m Just Jonathan.