Something really got under my skin today. No, it wasn’t starting my day a bit cranky, or tired (which has been and will be the case for the next few years) or even my inability to prep the coffee machine the night before.
What bugged me, albeit very nicely, was how my daughter and her friends all say hello in the morning. My wife usually walks her to the classroom, and waits for the teacher to arrive. I’ve been doing this for the past two days. What amazes me, is when one of their classmates, or friends in the other classes/grades walk into the area, all the kids run up and give each other hugs and say “Good morning!” They’re all really excited to see each other.
At first, I thought this behavior was unique to only her class. Turns out, it’s a something that all the Kindergartners do. They’re all are one big bunch of smiles, hugs, but no kisses (thank G-d).
It got me thinking about my own morning ritual. How do I greet other in the morning? Do I go out of my way to be nice or do I just do the cursory “Mornin’” as I quickly walk into the office avoiding eye contact and conversations? For the past few years, I’ve been guilty of being incredibly anti-social. I think I can recall why I stopped being so chipper in the morning.
Look, we’ve all been getting our asses kicked up one side, down the other, or have managed to deal with the way our lives have been turned upside down over the past few years.
But seeing those kids, genuinely excited to see their friends, well that made me stop cold and realize that I can either be a prick in the morning, or not.
Sure I know that I’m not going to turn this on immediately, or even convince others that I’m as genuine as the kids I see at school, but I’m gonna try.
Hey, you may get a hug out of the deal, and if that happens, well then the start of the day isn’t going to be too bad after all.
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Morning hugs are a good thing. I tried it and captured it here… http://hrringleader.com/2009/04/14/im-bringing-my-preschool-attitude-to-work/
and here
http://hrringleader.com/2009/04/16/preschool-attitude-part-two/
**Virtual hugs* to you today! Nice post.
I also too have become more cognizant of my anti-social behavior…not just at work, but in my apt. building, on the street, in shops, etc. It truly makes a difference. By just smiling a bit more and looking people in the eye a second longer, I find I’m running into fewer conflicts.
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