smile.

One of my favorite things to do is smile.

Have you ever walked into a room full of grumpy people and smile? It's one of my favorite things to do. I think it's because I'm an instigator and I like to see their reactions. If you haven't tried it, I strongly encourage you to do so.

We (Natsaha and I) had a co-worker at the water-park for two years that we refused to talk to until he smiled at me. Either of us didn't care how hard his day was, he wouldn't get our attention until he smiled at us. Oh, he fought it, every time, but at the end of the second summer he walked into the office and gave us a huge smile on his own. He told us that he liked how we made him smile at us, we were shocked.

The other night I went into one of the housing units where we work and there was a new little girl quietly tucked in behind a big chair. I watched her try to sneak her way into the the group of kids, but no dice. She was too shy to push her way into the crowd. From across the small room, I smiled at her, expecting her to shyly look down to the ground. To my surprise, her face lit up and she smiled back at me, her sad eyes sparkling.

Sometimes, life hits people in ways we will never understand or relate to. We try to be there and comfort them, offer an encouraging word or a hug. With our co-worker, I had no idea if he had a horrible day, but making him smile made it just a little better. The small girl trying to disappear behind the over-sized chair may have seen things in her short life that I will never understand; her smile changed the distraught look that tarnished her face.

Something so simple, something so easy made all the hardships of life disappear, even if just for 2 seconds. It's a blessing for me to be a part of that.