What a difference a smile makes.
Recently, while waiting for my daughter in my car at our local grocery store, I noticed an Asian woman walking with a small child. She was carrying heavy bags of groceries and her little boy, who couldn’t have been more than 2 years old, was almost running behind her, trying to keep up with his mother as she hurried along. The mother looked absolutely exhausted, burdened and sad and for a second I wondered if she’d been treated poorly because she was Asian and because of the pandemic. As she passed by my car, we made eye contact and I smiled at her. Instantly, her face lit up with a smile. Her entire demeanor went from heavy sadness to light-hearted joy, and a look of relief washed over her face. It was so touching, that I almost cried. Just as this happened, my daughter emerged from the store and saw the whole thing. When she got in the car I asked her if she noticed the woman and she said, “Yes, and it almost made me cry.” I couldn’t believe how a simple smile could make such a difference, but it did for me. And, I have the feeling it did for the mother, too.