Thanks for the good suggestion! I worked in retail for several years and often customers only saw me as the person behind the cash register. It always felt nice to be acknowledged and appreciated.

A smile and thank you goes a LONG way. I thank everyone including the receptionist at my children’s school and the people who watch them before school starts. I encourage my children to thank people as well including each other.

I often think of my boys’ pediatrician telling me that I was the first person to smile while greeting her that day…Sadly it was after 4 PM!!

If you SMILE when you answer the telephone, the person on the other end can “feel” it. Smiling is so easy and so very contagious. It’s fun to start a smile epidemic!

After hearing a little one say, “she looks mad” I woke up to the fact that as we age we need to try to look pleasant… Darn that gravity! I always try to give a little smile to a mom who is having a hard time with her kids just so she knows that someone understands.

I try to look for things to be grateful for. My goal is to write five blessings in my journal each day. Some things are very obvious, but have you thought about going without indoor plumbing, the computer, toilet paper, electricity, warm clothes in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, a car. . . . .the list goes on and on. I also love to say THANK YOU and call the people by name (if they have a name tag on). Also I write lots of anonymous notes saying THANK YOU for various things. . . . . .

Please, thank you and a smile go a long way. Its amazing how many people have forgotten how to be polite. I try to smile and say thank you whether it be in person, on the phone or email. Smiles!