(click here to read Facebook comments)
the impact you’ll have on others…… and in the end, it shouldn’t impact your desire to keep on keeping on. Just a simple smile can make all of the difference to a friend, a family member or better yet – a stranger. And if a smile has that much power, just think how much a kind word or even prayer will travel.
As I get out of my car, I have to duck my head just a little so I don’t knock my pink cowboy hat/tiara combination off of my head. Even though it’s Halloween, most folks don’t dress up for work, so when they see me they have to look twice - and I smile…. . Now you’ll have to admit that it’s hard not to smile back at a lady with pink hair, a pink hat with a tiara and a pseudo leather vest with Fried Flamingos painted on the back.
It’s too late to decide to blend in now – just go for it… I get in the elevator with three young men on it – and one says to me – ‘we don’t have any candy’… and I bust out laughing. And we all smile. I make my way to my office, and a fellow worker who just moved into the cube outside does a double take – to which I reply, ‘you should have checked the neighborhood before you moved in!’ And we smile…..
My co-workers have been going above and beyond to knock a project out before a due date, so I walk over to let them know how much I appreciate their efforts. And she replied, ‘I really appreciate you telling us how much you appreciate us – it makes all the difference.’ And I smile.
And she says ‘pink hair really looks good on you’, to which I reply, ‘thank you! Of course it does, after all my name is Tutu Pink.’ (Tutu – Hawaiian for Grandmother/father – Pink – my nickname from my Fried Flamingo Days)
And she gave me an envelope with a card and a small pewter heart just to let me know that she had been thinking about me during the days since myDarlin’ left us. And I say thank you…. You have no idea of what this heart means to me.
My day of pink continues, to the grocery, to see the kids, to a Halloween party with dear friends and finally to Ronnie John’s. So many are dressed in costume that I don’t recognize them, and I make my way to the wall counter in the back of the room to find a spot. As I scan the room a second time, I see her – a dear lady whom I only met a couple of times, but am friends with on Facebook – so I do know that the wonderful impression she made on me is truly who she is in real life. And so I made my way over to say hello and she shared with me what an inspiration my daily gratitude journals have had on her. What I didn’t know before tonight is that she has experienced loss the same as me… And I smile a smile of understanding and love.
My laptop overheats easily, so I have the notebook our daughters brought for me the day after myDarlin’ left us under the key board propping it up for air circulation. Why does this matter you may be asking yourself…. My hands rest upon the notebook as words spill from my heart through my fingertips onto the keyboard and screen. And the notebook cover is inscribed ‘Trust in the Lord’……
I am filled with gratitude today as I look back over my day, my friends and my life with myDarlin’ Robert Kenui Pope. I know that the Lord guides my hands and heart every day. I think that if I could, I would dye my hair pink and wear my pink cowboy hat with the tiara every day just so more people would smile. And I would be content not knowing what the impact was for I know it is always returned to me tenfold, just like a boomerang
#KeepLookingUp #smile.
No comments:
Post a Comment