Wednesday, August 6, 2014

The Kindness of Strangers

I am having the best day ever.

I had a swim workout this morning, but instead of my usual 6:30 am start, she needed to meet at 6:00. No big deal, I thought, it's only an extra half hour.

It is a big deal. For some reason, seeing a 4 on your alarm clock instead of a 5 makes it that much harder to get up. But I did. I hauled ass, got myself and the dogs ready, and made it to the gym on time.

It was a tough workout, but I felt great at the end. My trainer has gotten to the point where she doesn't get in the water with me anymore, but instead walks along the top as I swim to watch my technique and give me pointers. It feels like a real swim practice :)

I finished and heading to the showers for my normal post-workout routine. As I was drying my hair and putting on makeup, a woman tapped me on the shoulder and said, "I can see the difference."

I must have looked slightly confused and she followed up with, "I haven't been here in about a month, and I kicked myself this morning when I saw you and saw how great you look. Good job, keep it up."

It was hard to keep the tears from welling up in my eyes. I thanked her profusely and told her that she made my day.

As I got into my car, with a huge grin on my face, I realized something.

I see myself every day. I look in the mirror every day. So I don't see those subtle changes in my body that someone who hasn't seen me for a while will notice. That wonderful woman gave me a
boost of confidence and motivation to keep going, which was definitely needed on this extra early morning.

So today, if you see someone you haven't seen in a while, or even someone you see every day, pay them a compliment. When they look in the mirror later, it might remind them of the goal they are working towards. It will at least brighten their day :)


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