Happy Day

I decided that since Saturday was such a sad day that I would make today's post about something happy. I love it when I have days that renew my faith in the human race. There are so many rude and disrespectful people and some days I feel like all I do is run into them. Then there are days when my smiles are returned by strangers and people go out of their way to be nice. I wish there were more days like this.

So, I went out to run a few errands the other night; I had a few retail stores to get to and then the grocery store on the way home. I went into the first store to make a return. To my surprise, the customer service woman was happy and pleasant. She smiled and asked for my receipt - she even said please and thank you. This is not my regular experience with retail workers. They usually look at me like I have ruined their day by coming into the store to make them work!

After the return I had a few things to pick up. I was browsing through the aisles and had three different sales people come up to me and ask it they could help me find something. Again a rarity for me. I started to get a little worried. Did I look like a shoplifter with my big diaper bag purse and no kids? Did they just have customer service training day? I wanted to believe that this store was just filled with happy people who were glad to have a job. But this world in which we live has taught me differently. And that is a shame.

The cashier at check-out was very warm and friendly too. I was buying diapers and baby food along with some older kids clothing for Brian and Sean. She asked, "Are you buying for your kids?" and I said, "Yes." Then she asked, "How many kids do you have?" I told her, "Three boys." She said, "Wow you must have your hands full!" I replied, "Yes, but I wouldn't trade if for the world." She smiled and said, "Your boys are lucky to have a nice person as a Mom." Now, this girl had no idea who I was or what I was about. I guess she doesn't always get met with smiles and polite conversation. Sad, very sad.

After I left, I went to the grocery store. As I was walking in, one of the kids collecting carts asked me if I needed one. He stopped what he was doing and walked a cart over to me. He could not have been more than fifteen and I just wanted to pinch his cheeks! As rare as it is to find adults that are pleasant at their jobs, I find it even harder to find teenagers willing to go out of their way to help. I took a cart, thanked him, and headed into the store.

I hit the produce aisle and as I was about to put some sweet potatoes into a bag, an employee walked over to me. He said he was about to put out fresh potatoes if I wanted to wait a minute. I thanked him and decided to wait. Again, not necessary - he could have just let me buy last weeks potatoes! I had another employee help me get something off a high shelf. He was more than happy to help and didn't even let out one sigh. The check-out clerk was great too!

I drove home with a smile on my face. I wish I could say the same every time I went out. But there are always the disgruntled workers and the rude drivers out there lurking and waiting to sadden my day. If only every one would keep the lessons learned as a child and remember to just be nice. It really is not that hard. To me, it seems as if being mean and grumpy takes so much more energy. I remember something about it taking more muscles to frown than it does to smile. So, smile away, I say!