Earlier this week, I took my two youngest kids to Sweets n' Stories, our local ice cream shop. Heather has been running this store on Main Street in our town for over 25 years and it's also an independent book store, coffee shop, and cafe.

I shared this picture of our daughter commenting on the "face-sized" nature of the lollipop. 😂

One of my FB friends that's not local to me commented, "I LOVE that place!" and it got me to thinking about how quickly I can forget the magic and special-ness—yes, that word is made up—of things once they become fixtures in our lives.

Once something's shine wears off and it's no longer novel and new, we sometimes forget to appreciate it. What if we could look around our communities with the eyes of a first-time visitor? What marvels and joys might we discover?

Today is the 19th anniversary of September 11 and while I can't say anything unique on this topic, I do think we sometimes overlook the loss of the actual structures from that event.

Without a doubt, the loss of human life and the way our world was thrust into chaos and mistrust is the tragedy. But the two looming buildings of the World Trade Center were fixtures in the New York skyline.

They represented something meaningful to us and the people of Manhatten likely took them for granted, assuming they'd always be there, standing tall.

All of this feels connected to me.

As I think about what other fixtures in my life that are probably being undervalued and overlooked, I realized it's not just businesses.

People are fixtures in my community and life, too—mail carriers, essential workers, my friendly neighbors, my friendly neighbor's dogs, my husband, my parents.

The "stuff" I have that's always there for me—coffee (yes, it never lets me down), the sunrise and sunset, my amazing bed.

On this historic day when every American feels the pang of loss, I encourage you to look around and think about the fixtures in your community and your life.

Think about the people, things, and businesses that are always there for you.

Now close your eyes and try to imagine how your life would be if suddenly, they were gone.

Novelty is fun and exciting; we should continue to strive for innovation and creativity, especially in such challenging times.

But in our constant rush to reinvent and create something shiny and new, let's not forget to stop and appreciate the steady, dependable, reliable fixtures in our lives.

Let's not wait until they're gone to make sure they know how valuable they are.