This past week was a big one for me. It was the time I had been waiting for all of January and even before that. It was my 50th birthday and I got to see Oprah on Saturday and you all know how I feel about our queen. The whole week was one for the record books. It goes down as one of the best weeks of my life. From my dear friend coming to spend a few days with me for my birthday to the friends that gathered to help me celebrate to the special gifts I received...it was all so humbling. I have some great people in my life and I will never take that for granted.
When trying to decide how to get to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn I had initially decided to drive because all the trains seemed to take so long to get there. Then my neighbor who is familiar with the city told me I did not want to drive into Brooklyn. He suggested I drive to a train station up north and take that into Penn Station and then hop on the subway to go into Brooklyn. So that is what we did. Got a little off track with GPS at first but made it to the station just in time to get on the train. I saw a man walking toward the platform and said we were train newbies and he directed us where to get our tickets and where to go after that.
We got to Penn Station and that is where the real fun begins. There doesn't seem to be much help when it comes to asking questions about where you want to go. You go down into the subway and there was no one that worked there to get help. So I ask random people and most of them don't know so you just have decipher if you think they know what they're talking about. A woman told us we were on the wrong platform and told us how to get to the other side. Once we boarded the train she told us I asked someone on there if we were on the right train for Brooklyn. She said, nope...you are the uptown train and you need to be going downtown. Ugh! She said everyone has done it and she told me how to get on the right train. We got on the train and I was asking someone again to verify we were on the right train and they said we weren't. But I didn't think they were really sure about what they were telling us so stayed put and waited. And alas, we were on the right train and made it to the Barclays Center.
My cousin Jim had shirts made for us that deemed him, Oprah's #1 fan. I was her #2 fan. But the shirts had the classic Oprah font she used for her show and looked really nice. One of the worker selling Oprah gear commented that she liked my shirt. I told her the #1 fan was here as well! I tried to make friends with the woman sitting next to me and although she was nice she didn't seem interested in a new friend for the day so I let her be. I had gotten up at one point to go grab some soda's for myself and cousin. Two small soda's totaled 14 dollars so I said, Geez Louise! The woman said "who is Lousie?" I said, I don't know but she's taking all my money!
At one point I was standing in line for the bathroom and a young woman that came out said to me..."I love your hair, it looks so good." Well, my face just lit up and I said, thank you so much. That little thing that took her two seconds to say and totally made my day. After the show was over I was standing outside waiting for my cousin and quite a bit of time had passed and one of the two officers who had been standing there the whole time asked..."are you lost?" I said no, I was waiting for someone who was lost but thank you.
We were able to make our way back on the subway and then we just had to finagle getting on the right train back to New Jersey. Now, they finally had workers available that I could ask and thank goodness because none of them seemed to going where I wanted to go. While on the right train (thank goodness) I had asked the conductor how many more stops until ours just so I didn't have to worry about missing it. Because you have to get off those trains fast. They will close the doors right on you! But he didn't seem sure. (what???) But a woman standing next to me pulled the stops on her phone and showed me how many more we had to go before my stop. So freaking nice! She didn't have to do that but it gave me such peace of mind knowing for sure when we needed to get off. I was so grateful.
It's these small random acts of kindness that make such a big difference in this sometimes cruel world. I ran into a lot of rude people as well but I'm choosing to focus on the good ones. What everyone did that day that stands out in my mind were such small things to them but meant a great deal to me. So I urge you to be kind. To spread it in any way you can. If there is something small you can do to help someone out, do it. It could mean the world to them. If you see something you like about someone else, tell them. Whether it be their hair, shoes, bag, coat, scarf, jewelry. Whatever it is you admire. I absolutely love when people compliment my wedding rings. My husband appreciates it too!
Doing random acts of kindness can bring you a lot of joy as well. It brings me happiness to know I've said something that can brighten up someone's day. I love to see someones eye's light up when I compliment them. It's so mood lifting for you as well. So be kind. Help out your fellow humans. Be nice to your fellow humans. It makes every day just a little bit better.
It's Monday! My favorite day after Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A brand new week full of possibilities and opportunities. Make the most of them. Do something today that will bring a smile to someone's face. And that will help make today, your best day yet!
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