I have been thinking about the woman in Wal-mart all day. I guess this means I need to take a moment out of my busy day and pay tribute to her. She did an amazing thing for me this morning and it blessed me in a big way.
Last night, my son and me had another…I'll call it a disagreement. This has happened more in the last six months than all the years he has been my son. I'm sure it has a lot to do with testing what he considers to be his new-found manhood.
I keep thinking about the pro's and con's of raising an independent son. For starters, one pro would be, you don't have to do his laundry. One con would be-you don't get to do his laundry. Anyway…I am straying from my point.
Back to the woman. In my effort to eat better these last few days, I decided to stop and buy some double-fiber, whole grain muffins. As I walked toward the store entrance, I noticed a tense feeling begin to fill my nerves while thinking through the events of the night before. By the time I entered the store, I was moving swift and staring straight ahead. And then I saw her, this sweet women standing off to the side who greeted me as I walked passed her in a way that said, I have no time for you. I glanced her way and she smiled the biggest smile and told me to have a great day.
I smiled, more like grinned at her and kept walking. I paid for my items and headed back to the doors I came in-and there she was again. Her warm sweet smile, thanking me for shopping at Wal-mart. This time, the smile pierced my heart. Subconciously I took a deep breath, suddenly feeling relaxed, and smiled back. I paused a moment-walked toward her and thanked her for her warm welcome.
I told her how much I appreciated her smile and wished her a wonderful day. Strange thing is, I have seen this woman many times-now that I think about it, she has never failed to have a smile on her face. I'm sure she must have bad days, but you wouldn't know it.
It is amazing how such a trivial act as a smile can have such an amazing affect on someone (namely me) who is having a rough morning.
I guess I just wanted to say, don't ever take a smile for granted, take the time to smile back, make eye contact and let them know they matter.
I think I am going to print this out and stop by the store tomorrow and share it with her. She has to know she made my day.
