Why Not Then?

If there was one small thing that you could do to make someone elses day better, why not then?

Maybe I'm just crazy, but personally, I enjoy making other people happy. I know I constantly go around telling you I hate everyone - which is still true - but making other people happy makes me happy. It's not an exact science, but I promise I'll explain it to you when you're older.

Take today for example. I pretty much had the day from hell. It was the kind of day that felt messed up enough to make me want to quit anything and everything I get out of bed in the morning for. I was walking home from the bus and there's one house I always pass that has a particularly nice garden. I honestly love this garden. It's not perfect. In fact it's no where near perfect. But it is visually pleasing. It has a range of tone, texture and colour. It has a good sense of balance and the plants all compliment each other. I could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea.

On my way home today I was carrying my stuffed full backpack, another heavy bag on one arm, and my A1 core flute folder in my other hand. When I was passing this house I saw that the woman who lives there was working in her garden. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to tell her how amazing her garden is, but I've never had the chance. So I stopped. Who cares if I got home late? I sat on the grass across the footpath from where she was working and just sat down.

Yes, I know, it was a creepy thing to do - don't talk to strangers - blah, blah, blah.

Eventually she realised I was sitting there and she said hello. There was my invitation. I said hello back and told her how great I thought her garden was. She was clearly taken aback by what I'd said and told me that it was an odd thing for me to mention, because teenagers don't notice things like gardens.

Just to clear up any misgivings, I reassured her I wasn't your average teenger. I come with no added sugar and I'm 99% fat free. She thought that was funny - I was in. We talked about her garden for a while. We talked about her son and how she's hoping he'll visit soon. He helps her in her garden sometimes. He's also very important and I don't doubt that.

Eventually she asked me what my A1 folder was for, so I told her I'm an artist. She seemed to find that impressive, so I felt a little bit better about how much my day sucked. At least when I'm in a crap mood, I can still be impressive.

We then kept talking about her. Her son, her garden and anything else she felt like sharing while sitting on the grass a metre away from her garden. When I got up to leave she thanked me. I asked what for, because all I'd done was avoid going home so soon. She said it was for noticing her garden because she thought no one did.

Something that easy to make an old woman smile. Why not then?

You do it without ever realising it. Why not take the time to appreciate the work someone else has put in to something. I'm always being told that I try too hard to make people like me. I'm really not, I just can't help wanting to make people smile.

xx