In one of my first posts, I talked about my drive to work and the crossing guard that stands on the corner of 107th and Sanganon. Every morning I drive by, stop at the stop sign that is across the street from her post, wave and smile to her. I did this for the first five months without knowing her name or saying hi until one day this changed. It was a day in January when I decided I was going to stop and introduce myself. It had been a rather cold week so I decided I would bring her some coffee as well. So one morning I asked MC to make extra coffee and I filled up my AV travel mug with coffee for the crossing guard and my Yankees travel cup for my coffee. As I drove to work that morning I thought to myself, does she even like coffee? What if shes not there? Fortunatly I was wrong with both of these questions. As I pulled up to the stop sign at Sanganon and 107th, I waved to the crossing guard and then made a left turn onto the street instead of going straight on like a normally do. I parked on the side, grabbed the AV cup full of coffee and got out of my car with a smile.
"Hi, I drive by you every day and we wave so I figured I would come introduce myself."
The conversation then went on to introducing myself to my new friend and asking about herself. Her name is Greta and she does like coffee. So I handed her the mug and told her to keep it as a gift from me to her. I knew I had a couple minutes to spare so I stood and talked to her for a minute. Greta asked where I was from and I explained to her what I was doing here and that I had just graduated college in May. Greta said that she went to college as well and now works three different jobs including two crossing guard jobs before and after school and another job during the day (I can't remember what that one is). We had some small talk for a while until I had to leave for work. It was a great little conversation and I'm glad I stopped to introduce myself and get to know a little more about her. Funny thing is we continue to wave to each other each morning but I haven't stopped to talk to her again. Maybe I will do that soon.
Greta really is the one who starts my morning off right because she is one of the first people I come in contact with besides my roommates and by the time I get to her the car is heated up so I'm not feeling miserable from the cold. It is great to smile and wave to each other each morning and its sad when shes not there or I drive by late and miss her for the day. Even though I don't know much about Greta, I do know that she is an amazing person who I look forward to seeing each and every day. God puts people in your life for different reasons and apparently Greta is one of those people. Her wave and smile make me smile every morning and I hope that she enjoys our little meetings as much as I do. Take time to appreciate those people in your life that you see each day but might not notice or think too much of. Maybe its the janitor at work or a shy kid in your class. I challenge you all to find these people who are in your life everyday and say hi to them. Introduce yourself and ask them to tell you about them. You might be surprised how good it makes both of you feel to know that each day you are brightened by each others presence.
Chicago fact: The snow storm that caused the city to shut down for two days and streets not to get plowed for two days gave the city about 2 feet of snow on average (about 3-4 feet in our driveway becasue of the wind go figure). This snow storm made it the citys third largest snow storm on record. The last time it snowed close to this much was in 1999. It was great to have two days off from work but I do have to say, wake up Chicago and come to New England to experience real snow storms!!
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