A Smile

The blaring of my alarm clock rang in my ears, and I knew it was going to be "one of those days." The dark, gray morning was weighing me further down into the abyss of my delectable bed, but that stupid alarm wouldn't stop ringing. I rolled over and ungraciously mumbled the short morning prayer of thanks to G‑d, and then I felt the cold come on. My throat was scratchy, my head stuffy, all thanks to my co-worker who only uses sick days for when she feels great. I made a tea, grabbed a huge water bottle, the rest of the orange juice and tried to make it to my car. Needless to say, it took an obnoxious ten extra minutes to actually enter my car, which for my impatient, sick self was pure misery.

Heavy traffic and slow drivers made the drive take longer than I anticipated. Thoughts of how my boss would be peeved that I was late yet again wracked my brain, making me almost enjoy the traffic which was keeping me from getting there. (But not quite.)

Then everything changed.

At the Deerpath stoplight I heard a man call out, "Hey, nice car!" At first startled, I jumped, and then my negative thought patterns immediately convinced me that some strange guy was trying to make a pass at me. I looked and saw an older man waving and laughing. But wait, this wasn't the laughter of a deviant. He had the same car as I did. Red, 1997, four-door Honda Civic, and he got a kick out of it. In fact, he found this to be so hysterically coincidental that he had to share it with me. (And I thought my sense of humor was wacked1)! I began laughing too, and waved back. Yes, I actually smiled for the fist time that day!

Wow, maybe it doesn't have to be such a bad day after all.

"Teeth are whiter than milk," say the sages. What they mean is that a simple smile can do more for someone than any form of physical sustenance. The warm smile of a stranger, a hand extended, the spark of G‑dliness shared between people when they show they care is undeniably more satisfying than my pita with avocado.

My day suddenly turned and had a much more positive tone, and I was able to smile and share that joy with others.

And no, my boss did not yell at me.