You Just Never Know

"Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one should preserve it."
~Anais Nin

This guy shows up here and is interested in an apartment for his father. He seems familiar, somehow, but I can't put my finger on it. After a long conversation he told me that they had been here over a year ago, but at that time it wasn't the right fit for his parents. His mom has since died, and now Dad needs a place to live. The reason he came back? Because Rock Ridge "felt good." He remembers how positive and happy the staff seemed, and said how nice and understanding I was when he came to ask for his parents' deposit back.

So I've been sitting here thinking, what if I had been having a bad day and didn't come off as nice or understanding? He wouldn't have come back! It's incredible to me how a five-minute interaction with someone can resurface over a year later. An encounter I couldn't even remember left an impression. Wow.

A similar thing happened several years ago. I was at the mall and this couple with a child kept looking at me like they knew me. Finally the husband approached me and asked if I used to work at the hospital. I told him I did. He said, "we thought that was you! We were there for an ultrasound and you registered us. We were scared to death because the doctor thought there might be a problem with the baby, and you were so nice to us. You told us you would pray for us."

I did not remember these people. I did not remember the discourse with them. But they remembered a simple conversation that made them feel a little better that day.

You just never know when what you say or do might affect someone in a postive way. This is my reminder today that every interaction I have is important. If I don't feel good or am not having a good day or I'm stressed because I have so much to do that is no excuse to not still be friendly and positive. Because maybe five years later a couple will walk up to you out of the blue and want to introduce you to their beautiful, perfect son. Or maybe a son who just lost his mother will know that his Dad will be loved and cared for...just because he had a good feeling when he talked to you. You just never know.