We miss your smile.

The other day I was having... a day. You know the one. Where you just want to stay in bed all day and conversations are an effort and you are an emotional ball of extremes.

And then this happened.

I was walking past our indoor pool at the Y. There is a wall of glass outside of my office where you can look directly into the pool complex. At this particular time of day, our camp high hopes kids were swimming and that's always chaos. Laughing, splashing, yelling, general pool fun.

No one was paying attention to me as I surveyed the scene. Except for her. While everyone around her was going nuts and having a big time, she took the time to pause and smile. And it wasn't just one of those fleeting, courtesy smiles...it was genuinely long enough for me to quickly snap a photo on my phone.

I have been thinking about the smiling girl ever since.

You know when you are walking down the hallway and say "Hey how you doing?" to someone, but you rarely mean it? What would I really do if someone told me how they are REALLY doing. Would I be ready to stop my day to listen to what they are struggling with? I wish I could say yes emphatically. But typically I am doing that courtesy ask. That courtesy smile. That courtesy "how are you?"

So I am trying something new. I am trying to be the girl in the photo. In the midst of my daily chaos. And you know what? It's working. People need my smile. People need your smile. They miss it. There was a time in your life that everyone got to see it, and they need it back as much as you do.

Let's make a pact to value people over experiences. I don't know about you, but I hope that at the end of my life, I am remembered for the people I impacted and not the things I've done or the places I've been. And plus, I don't know if you've seen my dimples when I smile, but they are INCREDIBLE.

-Liz