Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyman
Outside at lunch and a mom was taking her toddler out of the car. The toddler sees me, smiles and waves (I don't know her). Such a simple gesture made my day.
moral of the story, sometimes the smallest things can have big effects.
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this is sooooooo true.
we moved to bc from ontario at the beginning of summer in 1986. september arrived soon enough and i was going to a new school in a new city/province and i didn't know a soul. my folks had gone to the school a few days before everything started up and got some info for me... where my home room was, my locker number, etc. so with that info in hand i headed off to school. i guess i must have looked like a lost sheep when i came in (i was starting grade 8... so we were all the young kids at the school) and girl came up to me and said, "hi, i'm sarah, i'm in grade 12 and you look a little lost - can i help you find anything?" i told her the info i knew and she showed me where my locker was (it was 1 row over from her's) and then she showed me where my home room was. becuz our lockers were close i'd see her often and just getting a little smile or a wave meant so much being that i didn't know anyone.
fast forward 30 years and i have a new customer come by who needs a bunch of stuff embroidered. i meet this woman (named sarah) and i immediately know that i know her from somewhere. it was only after she left that i had the "ah ha!" moment. when she came to get her stuff i said to her, "i need to ask you a few questions" and she replied, "sure."
me: did you graduate from 'xyz' secondary school in 1987?
sarah: i did
me: was your locker at the end of the school right by the office?
sarah: it was.
me: was your maiden name ----? (it's a very easy name to remember becuz even now it still makes me giggle becuz i'm totally immature!)
sarah: yea it was - did we go to high school together?
me: no... i don't think so!
both of us: burst out laughing.
i told her about how she was just nice to me and how huge that was for me going to a new school and not knowing anyone.... and even 30 years later that still has a lasting impact - she was almost in tears.
so yea - all that to say that just the simplest of gestures can have huge lasting effects on people.