A Lesson in Smarties

Smarties have always been one of my favorite candies and on a day trip in 2006 they forever cemented a place in my heart.

A Smarties treat as we start our schoolwork.

It was the summer of 2006 and the first time I had ever visited the great continent of Africa.  As we were visiting the school that we were building five stone classrooms at we became painfully aware that the students in this poor area had never visited one of the world's treasures just a stones throw from their homes, schools, and lives.  Our group talked and decided that we would offer to take many of the students on a field trip to Lake Nakuru National Park.

When the day arrived, we hired three matatus, and tried our best to fit as many students as possible into each van.  After we had squished many in, then the rest of us split up among the groups and jammed ourselves in.  There was at least 18 people in each of the mini-van sized vehicles.  It was quite an experience being jammed inside the matatus with so many excited high school students.  While seeing the beautiful park, famed flamingos, and plethora of animals was great, it was another series of moments that taught me a lesson that I will never forget.

Excited for my day with a group of students I made sure to bring plenty of treats both for myself and my travel mates.  As we started to go and I was sure that no one else would be joining our group I handed each person three pieces of candy.  Small things such as tootsie rolls and of course, Smarties.  Take a second and imagine someone handing you two tootsie rolls and a roll of smarties...now imagine eating them, how long did it take?  For me, two tootsie rolls and a roll of smarties disappear after roughly 30 seconds, sometimes quicker.

After handing out the candy, we took the rough roads to the game park entrance, paid the entrance fees, marveled at the monkeys playing and finally started our game drive.  We drove for a few hours before I noticed the girl next to me, carefully unrolling the smarties, taking one piece, rolling it back up, and putting it in her pocket.  Throughout the trip, I continued to notice this and it quickly became more important to me than anything outside of the van.  I had never once in my life thought about eating one piece of smarties at a time, rolling it back up for later, and putting it in my pocket.  In fact, I was always sure that there would be another piece of candy after it - if I really wanted it, so I never truly treasured the goodness in each piece, I simply devoured the whole roll as one, enjoyed it for a brief moment and moved on.  This girl and this moment taught me something I will remember for the rest of my life: treasure each piece, each moment for what it is and the value will increase greatly.

As I gave each of my kids a roll of Smarties today, it became painfully apparent that this story about Smarties also applies to life.  Take life one small moment at a time, treasure it fully, and don't skip over the little pieces to engulf the whole piece at once.  This trip has reminded me of many of the life lessons I have learned throughout my life and taught me some new ones as well, but one of the most important ones is this, don't skip the small moments, treasure each piece as it comes.

A huge thank you to my friend Lori Hooper for sending such a nice care package with two big bags of Smarties in it, every time I reach in my suitcase I am reminded of this lesson and smile.  Not only are the candies tasty and remind me of a moment, they also help me reflect of the life I really want to live.

Treasure each piece my friends, because you never know when you'll reach the end of your roll.