How I Spent My Monday Morning Smiling
Yesterday I was strolling around Tesco trailing the sprog after me as I completed the weekly shop. I rocked up to the till with a trolley load of shopping (and her balance bike which she had ridden to the supermarket).
I piled the bits and bobs on the conveyor belt while also entertaining the little one with a discussion about her favourite Paw Patrol character. I’ve become pretty adept at this sort of multi-tasking since becoming a Stay At Home Dad (SAHD). I waited patiently for the person in front of me to finish being served and then it was my turn.
It was my turn to become infected.
I think they need to warn people at the tills that they are likely to suffer this contamination. Like a public service announcement or something.
*BING BONG* ‘This is a customer announcement. Please be aware that you are likely to become infected if you visit till 9. Thank you.’
The infection is the most contagious disease known to man. Or woman. It is commonly known as ‘The Sincere Smile’.
The lady behind the till looked at me and gave me the biggest ‘Sincere Smile’ that I’ve seen in ages. ‘Good morning,’ she grinned.
‘Morning,’ I said, a little taken aback by the impact of her smile. And it wasn’t one of those fake corporate smiles either. It was one of those ‘Sincere Smiles’, like she was actually genuinely enjoying her day.
Which is a bit of a shock considering she worked on a till.
I felt the corners of my mouth moving up. Suddenly I was smiling too. A big toothy grin just like she was. I felt a warm happiness inside. Getting the shopping done suddenly felt like the best thing in the world to be doing rather than the weekly slog that it normally is.
So I got everything packed in my backpack and finished paying when I was walking out of the shop. Near the exit there is the security desk with a big beefy black bloke stood behind a monitor. He glanced my way.
And that’s when I started to infect everyone else.
He looked at me.
I smiled.
He smiled.
Another person infected. It was spreading. I spent the rest of the day infecting people. Soon we’d have to call out Will Smith to come up with some sort of antidote. Only we weren’t turning into zombies. In fact, it was the complete opposite. We were turning into people who were enjoying life.
Next time you see someone smiling, why don’t you have a go at catching their infection? And then, why don’t you see if you can pass it on? You never know. We may end up infecting the world with our smiling, which would be no bad thing.