I have the choice every morning to be blissful or prickly. This past summer I had a job handing out towels at an outdoor fountain. How hard could it be to hand out towels?

When children’s mothers came up to me while I was working, they would get irate with me if things weren’t going as they planned.

The child’s mom said, “Why isn’t the fountain on, there wasn’t anything online saying that it would be off today.”

I said, “I am sorry but there are technical difficulties with the fountain right now.”

The mom said, “Well should I wait for it to turn on or am I going to waste my time?”

I said, “It is up to you because I am not for certain when the fountain will be turning on again.”

Having mothers be rude to me because a fountain wasn’t working made me realize I can’t let the little things wreck my day. I am more aware of how inflection in speech can change how others respond.

With me staying optimistic even after mothers were irate with me, I was able to put a smile on other people’s faces. I made sting bracelets while I was working and it made many little girls happy.

The girls would ask, “Who are you making the bracelets for?”

I said, “Anybody, would you like one?”

The girls said, “Yes, thank you so much.”

And when a dad came up to me and said, “I would like you to know there are four girls with smiles on their faces, thanks again for the bracelets.”

Hearing that I put a smile on those girls’ faces showed me that when I am being optimistic it can spread onto others.

By the end of summer, handing out a towel changed my view on how to respond to what is thrown at me.