In high school I wasn’t the most popular person. I had friends and people liked me, but popularity was never my goal. It didn’t seem to me that the most popular kids were the most interesting or nice so why want to be around them?
One day when I was walking down the hall I was stopped by a older student that I didn’t know. She took my arm and pulled me close to her locker.
“I know you don’t know me, but my name is Brenda and I notice you everyday you come in.” she said. “I just wanted to thank you for your smile. You always make me feel better no matter what kind of day it has been for me.” while she hugged me.
I was stunned. Here was a beautiful older woman complimenting me and it made me feel great. I smiled again and her and because the bell was ringing had to rush off to class.
I had a friend tell me once that sometimes the world is a better place just by being the person you are. I started to believe that in that moment.
It had been a productive hour at the coffeehouse. I had found some interesting articles and studied some new stuff. I went to clean up and drop off my cup in the garbage and I overheard two women loudly talking.
“The professor doesn’t explain things very well does he?”, she asked her friend. ”Do you understand it?”
“No not at all. I don’t understand how people can teach and not be able to communicate. Communication is key.”, her friend said.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you both, but I couldn’t avoid hearing you both talking about how important Communication is and I agree with you.”, I said.
They both turned to me and smiled. The first woman said “It is nice to hear confirmation!”, and gave her friend a cross between a high-five and a hug.
Her friend added “We are taking the same class and we can’t understand what the professor is saying so we are just having to teach ourselves. Thanks for letting us vent. Sometimes you feel that people don’t care about communication.”
We started some small talk for a few minutes and they explained how they felt that 90% of the problems in the world were due to just miscommunication. I agree with that I told them.
“I am going to let you continue because I have some things to finish.”, I said. ”Thanks for being open to talking to me.”, I said.
“Oh of course,” the second woman responded. ”After all communication is key.”, she said with a smile.
One day while I was working on the blog I noticed a young woman sit down at the table beside me. She had a huge bag, which she pulled a laptop, books and lots of other stuff from. She smiled at me so and I noticed her attractive glasses and said, “The glasses make you look smart”
She laughed and said “Thanks. I like yours too,” extending her hand to shake mine in greeting.
As we talked it became clear that she was studying for college and that she was a Filipina. She was friendly but I needed to continue working so I said we would talk later. When I left I told her goodbye and she flashed a beautiful smile.
It was a week later when I came to the coffeehouse and she was there! I noticed that she had a small kid with her maybe a 5-year-old boy. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable since we had only talked once, but I didn’t have to worry. When she saw me she smiled and I came over and talked. Her son who was playing on an iPad like computer saw me and got out of his chair and said “I like to dance!” and showed me his skills.
“Oh you are good dancer,” I replied. His mom laughed.
We spoke for a few minutes. She explained that its tough for a single mothers now, and I agreed. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have a minimum wage job, go to college and have a child. When I smiled at her again in my mind I was thinking “What a hero. When life gets tough you gear up and work harder.” Where do people find such strength? No matter what, she is already a hero for raising a child who has such joy and so open to share with others.
When I entered I saw two mature women playing what looked like scrabble with a yellow banana on the table near them. They were both smiling and very friendly so it was easy to talk to them. In fact, one of them saw me and smiled and said:
“It’s a great day isn’t it?”
“Of course.”, I replied. ”Even if its cold, I still enjoy drinking my hot chocolate. I am curious however, are you playing scrabble?”
The younger one replied “Its called banannagrams.” She explained the process to me. ”Want to play?“, she invited me?
“Normally I would love to, but I need to work on my blog for the few viewers I have.”, I said. ”Once I get done, I might play.” With that I set to work finding interesting articles to share for that day.
Once I was done I returned to their table and asked “So what is the reason that you both are smiling so big today?”
The older one said “My grandson is coming home today from the war and we are going to pick him up in a few hours at O’Hare. We are so glad that he is ok, even though it is his second tour of duty.”
“I’m glad to hear that. What does he do?”, I asked.
“He is a reconnoissance pilot. It is dangerous work, even though he is away from the main fighting.”, she replied. “We have more family that are going to meet him at the airport.”
“Oh so he is going to be spoiled today isn’t he?”, I joked with them. “You know maybe you can give him a present when he comes home of some food that he has missed. Is there anything that he really likes?”
“Oh I hadn’t thought of that. I know this will sound crazy but he really likes mandarin oranges. We can stop by the store and get some of those before we see him. He will be so thrilled.”, she and her daughter excitedly said together.
I said “I am sure he will love it. It is a thoughtful gift and shows that you were thinking of him.”
Some small talk later they said they had to go, and thanked me for our conversation. The older one said “I hope we see you again and for sure we will play banannagrams them.”
I smiled and said “Count on it. Tell him welcome home from me.” Mother Theresa said “We can do no great things. We can only do small things with great love.”
