In January, small business borrowing was up 4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Thomson Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index released today. “It was unexciting growth but it was growth nonetheless,” PayNet founder Bill Phelan said.

Perhaps a 4 percent increase in small business borrowing is unexciting in the big scheme of themes, but from the individual points-of-view of small business owners and bankers who have shown reluctance to lend to any business with even a inkling of risk, any pick-up in lending is an exciting vote for the future.

We assume Mr. Phelan’s quote refers to his lack of excitement regarding the rate of growth in lending, as it is not what economists say is seen in a typical period of recovery from a down economy.

But has anything been typical about the economy since 2008?

Shifts in staffing and labor, changes in business strategies, approaches to marketing, and yes, changes in lending and borrowing patterns, have all been experienced since 2008.

In other words, we’re not living in something called typical.

As long as any trend line ticks up on a chart of small business activities that reveal a sense of optimism exists, we’re not only excited, we’re filled with joy.

Totally new approaches to hiring, buying, borrowing and a wide range of operational approaches will be the legacy of the great recession. Doing more with less, including less borrowing, is the new “what we’d expect to see.”

If exciting means a return to the old normal of boom and bust, we may be waiting for excitement for a long, long time.