Month: August 2015

Yesterday I went to the State Fair with a couple coworkers and dear friends as a part of my employer’s staff appreciation week. We hit all our favorite spots, eats, and sights on a steamy August afternoon. At the end of the day, feet tired from all the walking, I snagged my traditional Sweet Martha’s cookie bucket and headed for the bus that would take me back to the park and ride.

There was an extremely long line for the bus to Bloomington, and I was certain that I would be waiting for the next bus. But then, I heard the attendant say there was standing room available, so in spite of sore soles, I jumped at the opportunity to get on and be on my way. Finding my spot, I settled in, expecting to stand in silence for the ride while trying not to fall into someone else’s personal space. What I wasn’t expecting was an engaging and fun conversation with the people around me that made the ride enjoyable and one that I will remember for a long time.

Sitting in the seats near me was fun lady about my age with her daughter and mother. As the bus was loading and I came to stand in front of her, she smiled and welcomed me into the space. They spotted an older couple standing in the aisle a little further up, and gave their seats up to them for what ended up being an hour long ride. I am always impressed by people who give their seats up on the bus. At the end of a long day, everyone is tired, but those people are just a little extra awesome.

The older couple turned out to be freshly-minted great-grandparents from Hawaii. They shared that they had always wanted to go to a state fair, so they were here for the next 9 days to take it all in. Their first instinct had been to attend the Iowa State Fair, but they decided there would be much more to do in Minnesota so opted for this one. Sorry, Iowa. We all compared notes on what we had seen and eaten at the fair, providing the couple with suggestions and ideas for things to do at the fair and around the twin cities.  This sweet couple was so excited to try all the foods on a stick and we marked on their fair map all the best spots to check out.

“Yes to the cheese curds and pronto pups.”

“Check out the dairy building for ice cream and the dairy princess butter sculptures.”

In an hour, you have a lot of time to get to know each other. We shared our stories about what brought us to the fair that day, our families, careers, and more. They loved hearing about Austin as the home of SPAM. “Mrs. Hawaii” told me that they are big supporters of my town. I said thanks, and told then to come back next summer when the new museum opened.

After getting off the bus, I walked the couple to the light rail station where they were off to their next adventure – A Twins game at Target Field. As we were walking, they told me that this experience on the bus was encouraging, and a view into the idea of people being “MN nice.” I would like to think that it was more than that. We all could have easily sat in silence, waiting for the time to pass as we inched through rush hour traffic. Instead, for me, it was another example of how life is better done together. It can be easy to feel alone in a crowd. However, a smile and an invitation for comfort can create a little community…even if it was only for an hour.

Several months ago, I was browsing my Nook for something new to read. I stumbled upon a book entitled “A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life” by John Kralik. The author was, at the time, a lawyer in the Los Angeles area who felt like his life had hit rock bottom. He began writing thank you notes, launching a project to write 365 notes in a year as an exercise in gratitude. You’ll have to read the book to see just how much his life changed.

There is a saying that things get messy before they get really good. Looking back on things, it was out of some of the most challenging times that the greatest growth came. The messy times when my husband was facing lay-offs when we had a newborn, or when we learned of our oldest son’s autism diagnosis, or when we found ourselves living apart, relying on family while we moved cross-country and attempted (and failed) to sell a house at the height of the mortgage bust… those messy moments are part of my story, contributing to what makes me, well…me.

It also makes me feel thankful for the support and prayers I have received throughout my life. 1 Chronicles 16:8 says, “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.” God has orchestrated  the shifts in my life from messy to shiny, sparkling, and new. Don’t get me wrong. There is plenty of mess in my life. Because life in itself is messy. However, when I look at the mess with thankfulness for the promise of God’s grace, it is easier to work through.

True to Mr. Kralik’s experiment, when we express gratitude not only to God but to those around us, the outlook changes a bit. Not only for you, but for those on the receiving end. A smile and a sincere thank you have the potential to cause a chain reaction of gratitude. What do you think would happen if there was a tidal wave of gratitude rather than the venomous hatred we see every time we wade into the comment section of a story on a hot button topic?