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| Mothers Who Dream | ||||
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About the Author
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Smile, You're Next Life is what you make it. The cliché rings truer today than the first time it reached my ears when I was just a kid. Now I understand the saying. In doing the mundane tasks of everyday living, we can go about it with joy or dread, a smile or a frown, a spring in our step or a sluggish, I-hate-to-be-here attitude. Our outlook affects the people around us, too. Imagine this: You’re waiting your turn at the doctor’s office. The door swings open, and in walks a surly-faced fellow. Wearing a scowl, he collapses into the chair across the way. He catches your eye, his frown deepening as he juts his chin toward the front desk. “They overbook on purpose,” he says. “Herd us all in here like cattle just so they can make an extra dime.” The nurse comes through the heavy door and calls the lucky patient who’s next. The patient puts down a magazine and heads inside. As the door falls shut behind the nurse, the surly man gestures to her. “Do you think she can move any slower?” You probably nod but squirm a little, drawn into the man’s morose way of thought against your will. Maybe you even feel sorry for the nurse. She’s not the one who overbooked, and although you’re not happy about waiting, you’d planned ahead to use your time wisely. A few extra moments of quiet hadn’t been wholly unwelcome in your otherwise busy day. Now, you’re hoping they’ll call you soon just to get away from Mr. Surly Soul who brought the gray clouds with him. Now, picture that same waiting room: Another man comes in. Smiling as he passes, he greets the receptionist then takes a seat. Now here’s a person you wouldn’t mind conversing with. He’s open and friendly, and not bemoaning the fact that he has to wait. Which kind of person are you? A surly soul? Or a friendly one? Yesterday at the post office, the kids and I remembered the old Mr. Rogers song about thinking of something to do while we waited--and it included chatting amongst ourselves. In our busy, run-around days, we don’t have that much time to spend together. Trapped in a sloth-slow postal line, we could either bemoan the predicament or make the best of our time. We chose to stay happy. And because we smiled at each other and greeted the other poor souls trapped in the sluggish line, we actually made friends with a sunshiny woman a few bodies ahead. When the freed-up postal clerk called out, “Next!” the lady and I waved him back, sharing our infectious grins. “Please don’t hurry us,” the lady teased him. “We’re making friends here!” For once, we made the postal clerks do the waiting--and brought a smile to nearly everyone in the place. Whether waiting, happily, in a line, genuinely greeting a harried store clerk who seems to have forgotten she’s waiting on real people, letting a car go ahead of you in a parking lot, or just holding a door for a fellow shopper, you can make a difference--in your own outlook and that of others.
Next time you have
to wait, don’t be a surly soul. Be a friendly one. You never know what
wonderful new friends will find their way past the door of a welcoming
smile. Whether a lifelong comrade or just a happy acquaintance with whom
you’ll pass a bit of time, who’s “next” in your life?
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