Today I got home from work with so much tension in my shoulders that I thought they must be visibly curled forward, and went out for a nice long brisk walk down the Panhandle and back, about 40 minutes. boy, did I need it.
A block away from home I started to pick up the pace a bit, and turned up the volume on the De La Soul tape that Eli made me, when I neared an elderly woman who'd sort of stopped on the sidewalk. I turned my walkman down for some reason, and smiled at her very wide, and she pointed her cane and started talking to me, so I stopped for a second and looked at her.
"Keep that smile, honey! Listen to me, I'm 90 years old, and I say, hang on to that smile, honey! I get so sick of young people I see, they look [mock serious expression], and honey, if you got that smile, you hang on to it!"
I was so momentarily flabbergasted that I didn't manage more than a very misplaced "I'll take your word for it," which is not really what I meant, but she said, "Well, you better listen, honey! I'm 90 years old! You listen to an old lady!" and by then she had passed by.
I almost burst into tears. I realized that I always smile for people at work whether I'm happy or not, and it's f***ing exhausting. Also I'd spent the whole day taking my stupid job waaay too seriously, and the very genuine response from a total (grandmotherly) stranger on the street was just about all I could take. very sweet.