Smile at those you love
June 20, 2008 by Sherry Osborne
Filed under Parenting
I read a quote the other day that really made me pause and think for a second. I wanted to share it with you.
If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don’t be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning “good morning” at total strangers. – Maya Angelou
How true is that? More than once I’ve been crabby at home, getting frustrated with my kids and aggravated at everyone and everything around me. But then I’ll go out in public and be smiling and polite to the cashier at the grocery store and the person who holds a door for me when my hands are full, at the other moms waiting outside the school…
Why do we do that? It’s like we continuously give them a message that other people are more important. While it’s very nice to show to your kids that it’s polite to be friendly with others, they deserve it just as much, don’t they?
I’m going to memorize this quote and make sure that I remind myself of that as often as I need to.
