On my weekly trip to
the grocery store, I noticed a sign hanging above the rows of shopping carts
that said “Welcome. We are glad you are shopping with us today.” It was a simple sentiment, but I thought for
a moment that it wasn’t easy for the owners of the store to bring me a greeting
before I even got inside. It took at least one person with a good ladder more
than a few minutes to make sure this message was placed in just the right spot.
Inside, as I stood near the avocados and tomatoes, a clerk came up behind me.
“Excuse me ma’am. Let me wipe this up.”
He bent to clean up a small mess I hadn’t noticed on the floor behind
me. “Wouldn’t want you to slip. Evidently, someone tried to make guacamole, and
forgot to take it with them.” This particular market is always clean and
inviting, and it makes the desired impression. But, it does take work to keep
it that way.
At home, we want to make our guests feel welcome. We try to
provide a place for them to sit without having to move anything, and if they
spend the night, there is a comfortable bed, and a convenient bathroom, stocked
with the necessities. I have learned that providing for visitors varies by the
age of the person I am trying to comfort. In this weather, having a fresh
pitcher of iced tea usually does the trick for the adults. The youngest visitors may enjoy the well
stocked toy box in our guest room, and my grand-children expect the freezer to
be full of “poss-pickles.” This also means that there should be a few good
places to sit on the front porch, which is a great spot to enjoy a frozen treat
on a hot day.
Just inside my front door, my Mama’s cedar chest provides
the perfect platform for a seasonal tableau. In the springtime, it holds an
Easter basket with colored eggs, daffodils and bunnies. Summertime brings out
the latest pictures taken of the grandchildren enjoying Granny camp. Of course,
when Christmas is a-coming, my lighted Christmas village sparks nostalgic
memories for all who enter. In fact, this same scene re-emerges for a week
during my Christmas in July celebration. Okay, maybe that display in the
entryway is more about me after all. Hopefully, though, others notice and
appreciate it.
Outside, we want our houses to make a good first
impression. The realtors call this “curb appeal” but there is not a lot of
science to it. Our porches are relatively clean and well lit, the doorbell
works, the yard is mowed before the wilderness reclaims the place. Healthy
plants and flowers also promote a feeling of happiness and comfort for our
friends and neighbors. In our region, the crepe myrtle tree is an easy
solution, as they thrive here. With a little pruning during the winter, they
provide a colorful display along our roads and in our flower beds. Best of all,
the Arkansas summer doesn’t defeat them, the way it does the rest of us.
The new congregation we worship with has in the
neighborhood of 500 in attendance each Sunday morning. Recently, a debate on
their Facebook page underscored a quandary about making visitors welcome. Some
expressed hesitancy to greet someone they didn’t recognize. “What if,” they
said, “this person has been attending for years, and I just never noticed them
before?” The consensus was to err on the side of being friendly. The proper
greeting is, “I don’t believe I have met you. I’m ‘so and so’. What is your
name?” Even with such a large group of people, this has worked well, as several
people have spoken to us each time we joined them, and many have learned our
names. We definitely feel welcomed.
When we do something nice for someone, and they say “Thank-you,”
our response is usually, “You’re welcome.” In the Spanish language, the reply
to “Gracias” is often “De Nada” which loosely means “it was nothing.” In this
case, I think I like the English language tradition better. When we go out of
our way to be nice, it isn’t “nothing.” It takes effort, as it should.
As the long hot summer nears an end, I hope you have been
able to stay cool, and perhaps have enjoyed some of my reading suggestions. If
my columns have cheered you at all, or made you feel good about your own
efforts to make others happy, you’re welcome.
