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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

We are in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a work convention, and the timing could not have been better for a little R&R. The night before our flight, I was aimlessly walking the aisles of Walmart trying to remember all the things I absolutely had to have. I wish you could see my face as I type that. For clarification, since sarcasm does not translate well, I in fact needed nothing, and yet my cart was full when I checked out.

I have been so busy lately that I have had to prioritize everything. Therefore, unless it was something that required me to handle it right now, I made it wait. Living like this only works for a short time, and thankfully, I knew a break was right around the corner.

I bought everything I was convinced I needed the night before. The morning of, I tried my best to pack intelligently, but alas, I did not. I left 45 minutes late.

Throughout the process I kept telling myself that I just needed to get to the airport and then I could unwind. Thankfully, we made it on time (without speeding) and the entire process was a breeze.

While checking in, I noticed how nice the lady at the counter was. She was calm and happy and really made the whole experience enjoyable. On the flight, our attendant was polite and animated when the person in front of us complimented her manicure. Her eyes lit up as she talked about how much she loved the color of her polish.

When our Uber arrived, he willingly picked up our luggage and acted as if our heavy bags weren’t a big deal. He was happy to tell us about his favorite restaurants in the area. The woman working the front desk at our hotel made us feel instantly at home. Every person we encountered on our journey seemed like they genuinely enjoyed serving us. I never felt like a burden.

By the time we got into our room, we were beat; however, we were hungry and needed to order some food before we completely relaxed. Once we agreed upon pizza, it was just a matter of how long it would take before it was delivered. Guess who seemed happy to deliver our food? Yes, she gave amazing service as well! Literally, every person we interacted with was awesome.

I’m currently taking up all the space in my own queen-size bed. My friend is sprawled across her bed as she flips through channels trying to find us something to watch.

Only 24 hours in, and I can already feel the stress of the world starting to melt away. I’m convinced that it’s in large part to all the positive, happy people I’ve been around lately.

I know that by the time I head back home, I’ll be refreshed and ready to handle whatever gets thrown at me. I also know that I need to do a better job of prioritizing other items in my life as well. It’s not just about which work activities require my attention, but also about who gets my attention. If I spend too much time with negative or angry people, it’s going to rub off on me. The cool thing though is that positive, upbeat attitudes are also contagious.

I should not have to fly across the country to have this realization, but apparently, I did. Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees, so I needed to walk away from it all for a moment. I think the other take away is this. It doesn’t matter if I spend an hour or a minute interacting with someone, I have a chance to make that moment great. A smile, a joke, a little more eye contact, it does not have to be much, but it can honestly make the other person’s day better. I want to be someone like that.

“People may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.