“That Makes Me Glad.”

30 minutes ago, I told my husband I needed something with sugar.

I wasn’t thrilled that we didn’t have a lick of sugar in the house.

Well, that’s not true. But you know what I mean.

We didn’t have junk food sugar.

No brownies or cookies or candy or cake or cupcakes or ice cream or cheesecake. Sigh.

I headed over to my neighborhood coffee shop, Colectivo, to get a kid-size non-fat, extra-hot chai tea latte.

The barista handed it to me and said, “If this isn’t hot enough, let me know.”

I told him, “It’s perfect.”

He replied, “That makes me glad.”

That makes me glad?

I love that!

I don’t think anyone has ever said that phrase to me.

“That makes me glad.”

All the way home, I was saying it to myself. Aloud.

“That makes me glad.”

I’ve heard people say “I’m glad.” Certainly.

But I really like “That makes me glad.”

Words are funny, aren’t they? All of a sudden, “glad” felt like it wasn’t really a word.

Have you ever fixated on a word, then decide to repeat it over and over.

You think to yourself, “What an interesting word. I wonder who created that word.”

So, back to glad. This young man was glad my chai tea was hot enough.

Then, I decided I needed to look up the definition of “glad.”

It means to be “pleased, happy delighted.”

Now nice that it mattered to him.

There are so many things that can make you GLAD.

What will you do that leads you to say, “That made me glad.”

What are you already doing that makes you feel glad?

• “It makes me glad that I was nice to my co-worker who never smiles.”
• “It makes me glad that I invited my neighbor, who seems to not have any friends, to go out for coffee.”
• “It makes me glad that I went to bat for a friend the group was gossiping about.”
• “It makes me glad that I was able to take my grandma grocery shopping.”
• “It makes me glad that I cancelled my plans to help a friend who was having a tough time.”
• “It makes me glad that I smiled at everyone I saw today.”
• “It makes me glad that I am patient with my son who doesn’t concentrate very well.”
• “It makes me glad that I didn’t yell at my daughter when she didn’t clean her room.”
• “It makes me glad that I didn’t eat the piece of cake I wanted.”
• “It makes me glad that I was patient with someone who made a mistake.”
• “It makes me glad that I took time for myself without any guilt.”

Be kind to others.

Be kind to yourself.

Add joy to others’ days.

Add joy to your own days.

All of these things can “make you glad.”

XOXO Aleta

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