The Mirror.

So... I am officially the proud owner of my own very hickified western boots. I got out of the country lifestyle long ago, no more party's in a field around a huge bonfire with ice chests full of beer. But some how it appears that western boots are in the up-most fashion. I owe my newest addition to my shoe collection to a very long standing close friend of mine who felt that he owed me a belated christmas/birthday present. As I browsed through the shoes and the most flamboyant salesman ever gushed me with compliments over how posh they were. I neglected to see how much they cost. That was until I got to work and was telling the girls about my first pair of cowboy boots. They asked me if I could show them to them online and when I located them...my jaw dropped!!! I could not believe that my friend had been willing to buy me a random pair of shoes and not once drop the price on me. That one kind gesture put an incredible smile on my face. Why would someone do something like that for me? When I talked to him about it later he said that if anyone deserved a little pampering right now it was me! I had been through so much in the last 4 years and overcome so much, I never thought of how others perceived me in the process. But he said my never ending ability to look at the positive and keep persevering gave him strength in hard times in his life, so inadvertently I bettered his life as well. WOW. It was the biggest boost to my ego that I had experienced in a long time. So the life lesson here is that you should always be aware of how you are reacting in situations, step outside yourself and be aware of how you are projecting on other people. Because you never know how the way you are reacting, either positive or negative, is affecting people around you. I had to scan an out patient at the hospital and the older woman's daughter was there with her, and you could tell that the mother was a complainer and that not much I was going to do or say was going to make her happy. Every time she complained about something I met her needs and did with a chipper up beat tone, by the end of the exam the senile angry old woman had turned into a sweet and loving grandmother, she sat there and thanked me for taking her seriously, said that no one else did anymore. Her daughter wrote a letter to our department wishing that everyone showed the same compassion for people that I did. Funny, because I was just being aware of how I was with her to make her feel more comfortable. There are a lot of people I wish I could just carry a big mirror around for and a tape recorder, or even better yet a video camera, so they could be aware of how they are approaching people. Every time they become abrasive or brash I just hold that mirror up so they become aware of it. Do you ever notice how in photos people look picture perfect smiling and putting on a show, but as soon as the camera is down they return to their normal demeanor . I would like to start taking candid pictures of people when they are wearing their real faces and randomly printing them and handing them to them. In fact I will start my collection tomorrow. For prosperity and such. The skipper is going to be one of the first in my little scientific test. The moment I walked in the door from work tonight I could see the pure ugghhhh in her face. It was obvious I was in for an evening and boy was I right. Apparently her job is in jeopardy. I tried my best to console her and give her the strength she needs but I'm afraid my advice fell on deaf ears. Nothing I said seemed to register. Time to leave this house. I'm working nights and with this added stress to her already faltering personality I can most certainly not entrust her with the care of my daughter. So the commute from Lytle to San Antonio will be easily met now with my new cowboy boots, because these boots were made for walking and that's just what they'll do....