Routine....

There is something to be said for routine. I admit it, I'm very attached to my morning routine. I realize that I need to break out of it because some parts of it are not healthy, aka the diet red bull and zone bar for breakfast..... But on the bright side, I'm starting to implement a new part to my routine - making my lunch. We'll see how that goes.

Part of my morning routine just appeared one morning about a year ago. That was the addition of Leonardo the Standard Parking night shift guy. I get to work just before 7 am and each day there is Leonardo to greet me with a big smile and a buenos dios seniorita. He tries (and doesn't always succeed) to teach me a couple Spanish words but always with a smile. I used to bring him the paper every morning way back when we actually received one.

Back in July I was surprised one morning to see that he was gone. There was another fellow there and I didn't even receive a look let alone a smile. I was sad. A couple days later I finally asked the surly fellow where Leonardo was. He was on vacation. I was happy that he was coming back. Two weeks later he is back and all is right with my routine again. He brings a smile to my face and will often wash away any crankiness that LA morning traffic may have brought on.

When I came back from my vacation he welcomed me and said he missed me. We chatted as there was no one behind me on the ramp and it turns out that we both had taken our vacations in Edmonton. What a small world we live in. Try to remember today that random acts of kindness to strangers can develop into an important part of their day. A smile can change the world for someone. Smile.....come on, you know you want to.