Thank you.

Dear Everyone,

We live in a time that I wish I could turn the clock back on. Growing up, I was taught all of the basics of manners and I was expected to use them and follow through on my lessons. If I didn’t,  there was usually a punishment like not being able to watch my favorite game show at the time or not being allowed to talk to my friends on the phone (my parents weren’t that creative with punishment,  but it did the trick). The things I remember saying included: please, thank you, no thank you, you’re welcome, nice to meet you, and so many other ones that I could lose you before you get to the next sentence. I’ll take the first step to admit that through the years, I have become a slacker when it comes time to thank others for not only the big things that they do for me, but the little things too. I have a feeling that some of you have as well. In fact, I saw it today.

I was at Kwik Trip,  a local gas station/convenience store when it happened not once,  but twice, right in front of my face. There was a man out to get his lunch time coffee just like I was. He waited in line, directly in front of me, wearing a nice suit and a terrible attitude. He stood, tapping his foot as if he was trying to smash a whole colony of ants (which, by the way, is ridiculous because Kwik Trips are wonderfully taken care of and extremely tidy for a store that sees hundreds of people a day). He answered his phone and complained about how he was waiting at the gas station, making it sound like he had already celebrated another birthday while waiting in line. All of the registers were full of people getting groceries, coffee, snacks, and pretty much anything you could ever imagine you’d need for home or the car because Kwik Trip has EVERYTHING. Two lines finished at the same time and him and I, being number one and two, got to proceed to the counter to pay for our items. Unfortunately Thankfully, I had the register right next to his. Both of the cashiers thanked each of us for our patience and for understanding the lunch time rush.  I said, “No need to thank me. I know you get busy just like I do at certain times of the day.” The man next to me?  He didn’t say a word. Both of our cashiers were very efficient and mine even let me know that coffees were on special that day and I would get a great deal. I thanked her for letting me know. Our cashiers finished ringing everything up and we both paid. The man was done before I was and while he waited for his receipt, he looked at the time on his phone and didn’t even acknowledge the cashier. I listened closely to what happened next, partly because I’m weird and like to take note of social interactions between others, and partly because I have been to Kwik Trip enough to know what comes next. The cashier said, “Here is your receipt. Enjoy your coffee and thanks for stopping in! See you next time!”  The man in the suit and ant stomping shoes left without saying a word. I looked at his cashier who had a smile plastered on his face as though he just found out he won the lottery. It was warm, sincere, and wonderful to see. My cashier reassured me that I got three coffees for less than what I would have paid for a single coffee at a bigger coffee chain (I’m going on a limb by saying I’m sure she means the one that rhymes with “Carducks”). She then smiled a very kind smile and told me, “Thank you. We’ll see you next time!” I thanked them for the delicious coffee and joked that I would probably see them towards the end of the week. I got back in my car to leave and watched as another prime example of what is happening in our world in terms of manners happened right in front of me. A man ran around an old lady to get into the store in a hurry. The old lady,  using a walker, shuffled as fast as she could to get to the door. It shut before she got there and just when I had a perfect moment to pass along the kindness that was just shown to me,  a young boy stole it from me. He ran from the back seat of the car parked close to the door while his mother waited in the front seat and opened not only the first door,  but the inside door for the old lady as well. They said something to each other and the young boy walked back outside with the same smile that I’m sure that I had left the store with just moments before as well. His mother looked at him and looked over to me, almost as if to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things. I gave her a thumbs up and she gave him a high five. And there I sat, in a Kwik Trip parking lot,  with tears pricking the corners of my eyes, and thanking someone who is obviously much greater than I am for sending me to the right place at the right time to see this happen.

As I mentioned before, I’ve fallen off the wagon. I haven’t been the best at giving thanks or recognizing people for all they’ve done. There is no job too small and no thought too small that it shouldn’t be recognized.

People don’t get thanked enough. They don’t feel kindness enough.  They don’t smile sincerely enough and frankly, I think its ridiculous. We live in a country that is one of the richest, but we can’t see the value that comes with making someone’s day a little brighter and better.

It might be the little boy that holds a door open for you, the cashier that gladly helps the grumpiest customer, the janitor at the local high school, a police officer, a sandwhich artist, a teacher, a veteran, a postal carrier, or your friend that does something nice. The nice gesture might be for you, or it might be for someone else. Either way,  thank them. Thank them if it’s for you because it’s what your guardian taught you. Thank them even if it isn’t for you because it makes you and them feel good and they are doing their part to make the world that we all live in a better place. Thank them because it’s the right thing to do.

My hope for this blog topic isn’t to preach,  even though I feel like I could talk for hours on this subject. The point of this post is to get us all back on track. We need to help, thank, and love people because it’s the only way we will ever get our country back to where it needs to be. It’s time to go back to the basics.

I encourage each and every one of you who read this post to thank someone today and, most importantly, mean it! Say it with a smile and mean every single syllable that comes out of your mouth. Furthermore, I encourage you to be the person who does the types of things that people should be thankful for. Give every person you meet a reason to say thank you too.

Without getting into the details too much, life has shown me just how unpredictable it can be over the past few months. I want this project of giving thanks and doing things that deserve thanks to become a movement.  I want to know that I helped start something that is far bigger than me. I want to help change this world for the better, and I need your help. In the comments below, tell me something that you’re thankful for that happened today. It doesn’t have to be big.  It doesn’t have to be a miracle. It just has to be something that you were thankful for. Then tweet it, share it on facebook,  instagram it, or do whatever you can to tell the world. Maybe if we get enough people to show what they are thankful for, we can stop focusing on all of the bad things that are happening and fully appreciate the good that happens every day that we don’t give the credit to that it deserves.  And if life were to ever become unpredictable again,  like we all know it will, and I leave this Earth,  I will know that my life was worth it if this post helps just one person. I hope that if you share this, you feel the same way.

I’ll end this post in the only way that seems fitting.

Thank you for reading my blog.