A bunch of smiles
While walking around the tankbund this morning I saw a bunch of geese which reminded of an incident happened during my childhood.
Its about an old lady who lives in our neighborhood. She is the grand mother of our friend, Bobby.
The old lady is mean. Real mean. She used to yell and hit kids with a broom the other day because they went to get the ball in her yard. We were petrified. You should have seen our eyes.
She deflates the tires of people who park their bicycles outside her house.
The old lady is mean. Real mean. She complains to the parents if someone in the neighborhood disturbs her afternoon sleep by knocking the door to call Bobby.
The old lady is mean. Real mean.
I don’t think she has smiled since she was born.
Not until that day.
I saw her down at the park on Boats Club Lake walking that morning.
That morning the mean old lady was scowling at some kids who were feeding the geese.
Suddenly one of the geese chased the group of kids who ran off giggling excitedly. One of the kids was rather slow and the goose managed to nip him on the backside. The kid cried and burst into the most delightful, hearty laugh as he ran into his mum’s arms.
It was so cute that everyone around found themselves smiling.
Even the mean old lady.
Right, it was only a two second smile that was framed by a scowl.
Never the less it was a smile.
And I saw it.
I hoped and prayed she would get to enjoy a few more of those that holiday season.
Wordless
She just held him in her arms. She kept on holding him. He felt his heart beating for both of them. Then she smiled and took his hand. She held his hand tightly all the way back to the car without saying a word. As they walked together he knew, without her having to say anything, that she would love him and take care of him no matter what. And she did.
Sometimes a simple touch can be more powerful than a waterfall of endless words that tumble end over end out of somebody’s mouth.
BIG vs small
Have you ever heard people saying, “I wish I could do something great with my life.” Or, “I wish I could collect enough money to build some orphanages.” Someone actually said to me today, “I want to make a BIG difference. I don’t want to waste my time on small stuff.”
We often forget, myself included, that sometimes the smallest difference can have the biggest impact.
Being a good friend, a great parent, a compassionate bystander, a good listener and even simply just being there for someone who is scared and lonely, can have a huge impact.
Not everyone is destined to be a Mahatma Gandhi or a Mother Teresa but so many people feel that their life will be of little value unless they do something on a large scale. This is not true. Often it comes down to one act of kindness, one word of encouragement, one expression of gratitude.
