There is a janitor at our school named Sam.
Kind, soft spoken, African American, probably in his forties.
When he first started at the beginning of the year,
my heart went out to him because he was always alone.
Mopping alone. Sweeping alone.
I wondered how he felt as people walked on by.
So, at the beginning of the year I introduced myself and chatted a little.
Now, every time I see him he smiles and greets me by name.
The past month or so, I've been too busy to stop and chat;
I just smile "Hi Sam!" as I busily rush by,
always on my way to the copy machine, office...
something "important."
Today I was on such an errand when I came around the corner and saw him, standing there alone with his mop in hand.
My typical greeting and smile lasted only a few seconds,
and my "How are you?" was said in passing.
As I heard him reply, "I'm doing okay" something pulled at me. STOP.
I thought, "Just okay?"
I stopped and walked back to him and chatted about his weekend,
the weather, and a few other small things.
I walked away with a smile.
Lesson: learn to really care about how someone is doing
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That's so true. It'll be interesting to see how much even the smaller relationships in our lives matter in the end.
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