Smile, It's Contagious
Dear Kiddos,
Good evening. As you both know, you have a pretty uncanny ability to brighten up the day of those around you. For me, it starts the minute I walk in the door and I see a big smile (usually one that is surrounded by some sort of food). It also occurs every morning, because you sleep with a smile on your face, and if you wake up, then Surprise! Another smile. In fact, you are always smiling. I would like to pass along some advice: don't ever stop smiling.
It is pretty easy to smile. You just push the corners of your mouth up. For some reason, this is a challenge for many people, especially the lady who works the lunch shift at Taco Bell down the road from my work. But having you around has reminded me how easy it is to smile. You just look people directly in the face, and you smile from ear to ear. It is contagious, like a raging zombie virus that cannot be stopped.
I have tried to follow your lead, and I smile now too. Sometimes it has to be forced, but I just think of something funny, like the time we tried to give you a break from diapers and you pooped in the middle of the living room, and then a real smile comes easily. When I walk around and smile at people I interact, and work with, they tend to smile more too. They also are much more receptive to what I have to say, which comes in handy especially at work because I ask for a lot of favors and pawn off as much work as I can.
Somehow, you can pull off a smile as big as your little face will allow, and it is sweet every time. It is more of a fine balance for me, because if I go around smiling as big as I can, then people will want me to take a drug test or send me off to a mental house.
The trick to a good smile, I have discovered, is it has to be sincere. From you, every smile looks sincere. From me, I have to be sure it is sincere in order to prevent children from running away and telling their parents that I possibly own a panel van and offered them candy.
It may seem silly to go on about smiling, but it is not something to be underestimated. I have seen complete strangers, who were in a hurry, stop, see your smile, smile back, and ask how old you are or what your name is. A smile from a baby can light up a room and make someone's day. While an adult smile isn't quite as powerful, it can keep people happier than they were, and cause them to smile, thus spreading smiles around like water at a waterpark. As a bonus, it is impossible to be in a bad mood if you are smiling. Go ahead and try it. Put on a real smile, and then try to stay mad about something. If you are wanting to sulk about something, then unfortunately, smiling is like a forced cure for sulking that clears it up faster than you can say "Smile, AHHHH!" (That currently works for you every time).
You spread smiles to me everyday, no matter how cranky, tired, or squinty from the early morning light. You smile all of the time, whether you are falling on your face or being thrown in the air. So, thank you once again for teaching me this lesson, so I could pass it on to you.
Love,
Dad
It is pretty easy to smile. You just push the corners of your mouth up. For some reason, this is a challenge for many people, especially the lady who works the lunch shift at Taco Bell down the road from my work. But having you around has reminded me how easy it is to smile. You just look people directly in the face, and you smile from ear to ear. It is contagious, like a raging zombie virus that cannot be stopped.
I have tried to follow your lead, and I smile now too. Sometimes it has to be forced, but I just think of something funny, like the time we tried to give you a break from diapers and you pooped in the middle of the living room, and then a real smile comes easily. When I walk around and smile at people I interact, and work with, they tend to smile more too. They also are much more receptive to what I have to say, which comes in handy especially at work because I ask for a lot of favors and pawn off as much work as I can.
Somehow, you can pull off a smile as big as your little face will allow, and it is sweet every time. It is more of a fine balance for me, because if I go around smiling as big as I can, then people will want me to take a drug test or send me off to a mental house.
The trick to a good smile, I have discovered, is it has to be sincere. From you, every smile looks sincere. From me, I have to be sure it is sincere in order to prevent children from running away and telling their parents that I possibly own a panel van and offered them candy.
It may seem silly to go on about smiling, but it is not something to be underestimated. I have seen complete strangers, who were in a hurry, stop, see your smile, smile back, and ask how old you are or what your name is. A smile from a baby can light up a room and make someone's day. While an adult smile isn't quite as powerful, it can keep people happier than they were, and cause them to smile, thus spreading smiles around like water at a waterpark. As a bonus, it is impossible to be in a bad mood if you are smiling. Go ahead and try it. Put on a real smile, and then try to stay mad about something. If you are wanting to sulk about something, then unfortunately, smiling is like a forced cure for sulking that clears it up faster than you can say "Smile, AHHHH!" (That currently works for you every time).You spread smiles to me everyday, no matter how cranky, tired, or squinty from the early morning light. You smile all of the time, whether you are falling on your face or being thrown in the air. So, thank you once again for teaching me this lesson, so I could pass it on to you.
Love,
Dad
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