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Home > Michelle's Blog > Previous Postings > 12/18/07
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Previous Postings |
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December 18, 2007:
The Perfect Christmas GiftAs the holidays approach, I also seem to approach a time of the year where I am very focused on people and how they respond to holidays. Last week, I was in Chicago for the National Grain and Feed Convention and then off to Indiana for a customer meeting, followed by the Indiana Pacers game. My customer and good friend, Terry Bell, happened to be at that meeting. Terry made me remember the perfect Christmas Gift.
You see, Terry, as a “slightly older than 50” year old man” had a life altering occurrence happen this past year, and ended up under the knife for a five bypass surgery. If you know Terry (as you can see in this picture jumping off a cliff), he, of course, was joking with the nurses even as they were trying to sedate him before the surgery. They said they had to shave off his mustache, one of his identifying features. He said, “Shave my head, arms, legs, even my back, cuz my wife would like that, but if you try to shave the mustache, I’ll be checking into another hospital.” Because of his “persuasive” style, and the fact that his wife says the mustache defines him, they let his daughter trim it – but keep it exactly where it belongs – right above his smile. The man loves life to the nth degree, and we almost lost him this past year to generations of heart disease in his family.
Seeing Terry in Indiana last week reminded me of the most important gift we can give at Christmas…A SMILE! When walking down the street in Chicago, I was not afraid to look into the eyes of the homeless and smile. When Clifford, the Chef in the restaurant who made me an AWESOME omelet, told me a story about his brilliant 14 year old son, I listened…and then I smiled.
I always think back to when my parents were growing up, and their parents, and so on even further back in generations, and I wonder how they survived. They only had two outfits – one for every day and one for Sunday. They grew their own food, worked like animals, had little money, yet still they survived and found happiness.
Here is a picture I came across from my dad’s old family photos. We don’t have life as hard as they did. Sure, we have our challenges. We face losses of loved ones, hardships of our own, but look at their faces. We have so much more to be thankful for than they did back then, that I can’t help smiling.
So as my gift to you this season, please accept my smile. Most importantly, pass it on!! It’s the best thing you can give your family, friends, people at work, but mostly – strangers. If you can’t afford a gift to give, try this. It usually seems to work!
Merry Christmas to all, and Keep smiling!
Michelle