Read a tweet on Twitter recently which said:
My hubby just sent me a text thanking me for the lunch I made him. It was a really simple sandwich lunch, yet he's grateful. Made my day!
It made me smile, because isn't it amazing how easy it is to make someone's day? Just say thank you! Acknowledge something that they've done. Smile back.
 Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr
It doesn't have to be huge, but little acts of kindness can go so far, both within our families and with complete strangers. I know I've been in a horrible mood on several occasions, and then I've ventured out of doors, and a nice old man has held the door in a shop open for me, and smiled at me, or a clerk has been particularly pleasant, and it changes your whole demeanor.
Or my husband has called home for no reason, just to say "I love you".
Why is it that we so often get so caught up in how busy we feel, how put upon we feel, how tired we feel, that we forget how easy it can be to make someone else's day? And when we make someone else smile, we often make ourselves smile in return.
My husband and I practice this so much that it's become second nature. But when we were going through a particularly rough patch in our marriage, when we were under a lot of stress when our son was son so ill, it was suggested to us that we draw up a list of small things that the other person could do that would be kind and that would show us love. The rules: it couldn't involve sex, it couldn't cost anything, and it had to be quick.
So we made our lists. They weren't onerous things. Mine had things like give me a nice kiss when you come home, hug me a lot, ask me how my day was, bath the kids for me, write me a note. His weren't that big a deal either: when I come home, greet me at the door. Tell the kids what you love about me. Say something nice about me to one of my friends.
And yet, as easy as these things are to do, it's amazing how often we go through an entire day and don't do them. We get caught up in what we feel that we fail to reach out and do something that means a lot to the one person in the world that we should care the most about.
Practice being nice to your spouse. Say thank you. Figure out what makes them tick, and then do it. Even if you're not feeling it. Because once you start acting it, the feelings often come. And if we get in the habit of trying to do nice things for others, we'll likely lighten our own mood as well.
What can you do to make someone's day today? Got an idea? Then go do it! And don't forget to smile.
 Subscribe to To Love, Honor and Vacuum
Labels: Husband, Kindness, marriage, Relationship |
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=4155cfe7-db6f-4ada-b155-343bc44e2f40)
Stumble It!
I love this reminder! Sometimes, the littlest comment can just absolutely make someone's day, especially (I've found) when it's about the person's job. I like to find something positive to say to clerks in stores since I know that can be such an... unpleasant... <_< ... job.
I try to do this with my husband, too, and thankfully he's easy to please!
Thank you for the reminder! =)