A Smile

Mother Teresa said..... 'Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.'...Yes, a person with a smile on the lips and a smile in the eyes is to me the most beautiful or handsome person in the world.

A smile from my children can turn around the worst of days for me. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had a difficult pregnancy due to health issues related to fibroids which would cause periodic episodes of severe pain. And since I could take only mild pain medications, most of the times I would just have to deal with the pain and wait for it to pass. There were days when the pain would be beyond my tolerance level and the only thing that would help was to cry. There were days when that happened and I would be alone with my then four and a half year old son. So I would explain to him...Mamma is in pain and is hurting, so she is going to cry for a bit. I don't want you to worry. He would nod his head and keep playing. After some time, he would walk up to me with a smile on his face, hold my hand and say....Smile Mamma, don't cry. Everything is going to be fine....And I would find myself smiling back at him and somehow getting added strength to deal with the pain. In those moments, I have no doubt that in the parent-child equation in the relationship between my son and me, he was the parent taking care of me and I was the child being taken care of by him. So yes, a smile from my children has the power to turn around the worst of days for me.

I have also noticed that when I am out running errands or in the grocery store, if a stranger smiles at me and asks..How are you doing?...the very process of smiling back and saying....I am good....makes me feel great even if just seconds before I was feeling down and low. So yes, even a smile from a stranger has the power to make me feel better.

A friend called me last week and said she always smiled after reading my blog. Hearing her say that, made me smile. So, to my friend...since this blog post was inspired by what you said to me, this one is for you. I hope you are smiling while reading this and I hope you always keep smiling because you deserve a life full of joy, happiness and smiles.

Signing off feeling blessed to be surrounded by family and friends who always bring a smile to my face and this quote by Leo F. Buscaglia

'Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.'