I Hope You Always Find A Reason To Smile

Welcome back, all you fearless optimists and absolute romantics!

The other day, I drove my grandmother and my great-grandmother to my grandmother's dentist, who's office is about an hour from our house. I didn't really want to drive for an hour just to wait around for her to finish getting her tooth yanked from her mouth, and I didn't want to drag my great-grandmother all around New Hampshire because she was sure to get grumpy and stubborn before too long, but I did it anyway because I had to keep up my appearance as a faithful granddaughter. Yep, that's me. Miss Wonderful. Anyway, when we got there, we trudged up the stairs to the tiny waiting room and flipped open well-worn magazines about sports or famous people. I was fully expecting to be bored out of my mind.

But then the receptionist looked up at me and, smiling, said, "Just let us know if we can do anything for you!" And I was really impressed. As I sat through the hour I spent in that waiting room, I watched as she greeted every new patient by name, with a friendly smile and a twinkle in her eye.

I don't think a lot of people are really like that anymore. She could have just been having a really, really good day, but I think that she just was a pleasant person and had decided that she wasn't going to be the kind of secretary who stares at her screen, checks you in, adjusts her glasses, and stares back at her screen. Saying "hi!" and being friendly can have a big impact on people, and I'm pretty sure she realized that.

"Saying 'Hi!' and being friendly can have a big impact on people."

I went home that day thinking about her. A simple smile got me thinking all day. For the record, I was still bored, but at least I had something interesting to contemplate. I don't even know her name, but I was moved by something she'd done that she probably didn't even think about. How could this change the world, some skeptics may inquire. Well, of them I question: what would the world be like if everyone could find a reason to smile at each other?