The Happy Guys

     It is the kindness and smiles from random people that can really make our day, is it not? This week I encountered two people who were so pleasantly happy while going about their ordinary day that I think they deserve mention.
     The first is a young man who is one of the custodians at school. He is easy going, notices everything, and wears a content countenance. The first time our paths crossed he smiled and said, "Hello" and asked me how my day was going. This may not sound unusual, but in a busy school, in the hallways, you usually just get a brief nod from from folks. Once in a while you will meet someone who asks about your day like they really mean it. I think that's what the difference was with this young man. He is genuine. When I went to deliver a message to the cafeteria today, I saw him sitting and talking with an elderly lady who helps out at the school every afternoon. They looked up and waved at me across the room and it made me smile. He was giving her his full, undivided attention, leaning in a little to better hear her while they waited for the children to arrive. It was a relaxed, contented scene on the brink of what would soon be chaos. (ie: elementary school cafeteria)
     Later today, after I was home, I heard a car pull into the driveway. It was the mailman and he had just placed a large flat box at my front door and had gotten back into his car. I stepped out onto the stoop to wave and thank him. He is also a young man, in his late twenties and newer on the job. He leaned out the car window and nodded at the box and said (imagine a southern accent), "Hey! I think there's money in there. It sounds like money. Go ahead and shake it and you'll hear it. I think that's money. That's a good present you got there!" I smiled at his supposition and shook the box as he suggested. I shrugged my shoulders, smiled back and said, "I don't know! May be!" He backed out of the driveway still smiling. I remembered what I had ordered. It was a swing and the chain sounds just like coins jingling around.
     Two random people. Two big smiles. My humdrum day is so much brighter.