Last week Steve and I had the chance to go on a wonderful trip (about which I will bore you with a blog entry with soon). We flew out of Seattle late Friday night and had a few hour lay over in Charlotte, North Carolina (I was pretty excited about this because I'd never been to NC, so now I can check that state off my list - with an asterisk of course, beings that I've only seen the inside of the airport. See also Alaska... uhhh, I digress.) So we arrive in Charlotte at about 6 am, which is 3 am Seattle time. You can imagine that I was a little worse for wear.
The airport was much larger, busier and modern than I was expecting.
I went into the restroom to freshen up a bit. Immediately I was impressed because on the counter was complementary mouthwash, "ladies" products and those great mints that melt in your mouth. Already I'm already feeling perkier. By the time I've entered the area with stalls, I can hear two women conversing... one of them very animated. It quickly became clear that this woman was a restroom attendant. She was moving quickly, finding empty stalls for her guests, tidying up, and taking care of everyone. The first thing I heard her say was, "yes, I DO like my job. I get to talk to people all day long who are going all over the world." I was so impressed with the energy and joy she brought into an airport bathroom! (She brightened my day even more than the thought of free tampons!) All the while as she worked so efficiently, she kept a cheerful line of chatter. As I was washing my hands, I heard her say to a traveler who must have been complaining about long flights, "Oh, so you have a long day ahead of you, do you?" And she said it with such genuine compassion... This from a woman who would spend her day in an airport bathroom.
Steve and I were soon off to a beach vacation in Mexico. But throughout my vacation, and now since my return, I keep thinking of this wonderful woman who chooses to be happy and, more importantly, to share that happiness with others. I want to be like that: to be the kind of person who doesn't wait for better circumstances to be happy. But who chooses happiness and kindness and love.
So, my sincere thanks to this stranger who I'll never see again... and who I'll never forget.
