People Who Make Me Smile

My little great-niece Allie. She has one of the best smiles in the world.

Today, I went to my see my chiropractor. He is a courtly old gentleman. In fact, he is 83 years old and still practicing three full days a week and a half day on Saturday.

He has more business that most full-time practicing chiropractors do. You don't have to make an appointment or wait all that long in his office. His patients come walk out of his office with big smiles on their faces. He takes away their discomfort and pain with his adjustment skills.

Each God Bless You and his gentle assurance that " Your week will go much better now", are only a couple examples of how he ministers to his patients.

My husband David makes me smile. I love the way his eyes light up when he is watching a movie or enjoying some type of adventure via the television. His biggest dream is to sky-dive one day. While I would love to help his achieve that desire, I can assure you that I won't be on the plane with a parachute on my back any time soon!

Of course, my grandchildren make me smile. They all have such unique personalities. I try to soak up every minute of their little lives. Each day brings something new for them to explore and discuss.

I have always appreciated those who can tell humorous stories. You know the kind that make you laugh so hard that you think that you will never catch your breath again.

As I have mentioned before, our dad was a great one for "tall tales". The best stories were the ones where he began to laugh and could hardly finish the story himself.

Our friend Susan had the most infectious laugh and she always had a good story or two.

Our Aunt Betty Jean is a fun companion. Even picking out a birthday card could turn into a comedy routine as she peruses the card selection all the while embellishing the prose with a few additions of her own.

Visiting with her in my teens was a great treat. One time we decided to go to the liquor store and get the ingredients for Harvey Wallbangers. They lived in a pretty small town at that time and she didn't want my Uncle Charles to know that she was buying the liquor. So we set out to the poky little store and had my cousin Cindy go in to purchase everything.

But the funniest part was that she thought she saw someone who might tell Uncle Charles, so we had to duck down in our seats until the pick-up passed by. Cindy came out and asked us why we were hiding. I don't remember who it was that saw us, but later on that day, Uncle Charles asked her what she was doing at the liquor store. She just looked straight at him and said, "We were here all afternoon."

Now Uncle Charles had a sense of humor all his own. When Aunt Betty Jean was not looking he would wink at you to let you know that he wasn't fooled a bit.

We all have had people who have come into our lives and have brought a bit of joy and sunshine. Some are only able to stay for a short visit and others remain in your lives for decades.

This weekend, our family is saying one last goodbye to our Cousin Brett. He was a handful growing up with lots of energy and imagination. As an adult; his quiet humor and big heart touched many lives.

I mentioned him in a prior blog, "The Ties That Bind". Life doesn't always have a satisfactory answer as to why the good people leave this earth so early, but I do know that Brett was much loved by his family and his friends.

Smiling people lift up the hearts of all those around them. They seem to have something extra that makes their light shine a little brighter than others.

My last smile for the day is something that my grandson Nathaniel said to me tonight. He needed me to turn the light on in the bathroom for him. As we walked through the kitchen, he was hopping sideways. "Lets Gallop, Grandma, Lets Gallop.