Little did I know…

Little did I know what was in store (literally) for me on my most recent visit to Coles.

I think you need a little bit of  background first. You see, I’ve had the most incredibly stressful two months I have ever had. Kind of in a good way, but stressful none the less. Just the very, very, very, busy kind of stress.

I haven’t had a day off since early December. Seriously. I have literally worked seven days a week and a great majority of those days have been at least 14-hour days. It’s the kind of stress where you have lists running constantly through your head.

It’s stress from rapid business growth and not quite having the resources to employ an assistant – but desperately needing one. And desperately needing a holiday! But it’s good stress, so I try not to complain.

Anyway, it was really at that “ok, just take deep breaths” stage, and with very little sleep for maybe the second week in a row, I realised I could really crack soon. Like really flip my lid over something simple.

One of the things I realised with horror, was how I’d let myself go. Looking in the mirror, the startling regrowth line in my hair colour told me just how long it had been since I’d been to the hairdresser (three months!), plus my local courier delivery guy looked at me on the same day and said “you look like shit”. Hmmm, how many signs do you need?

So I’d booked an appointment, and a week later felt like a new woman walking out of the salon. I figured I’d do a quick grocery shop for the essentials, so off I headed to Coles feeling very refreshed! As I walked by the coffee shop at the entry to Coles, humming in my mind and feeling like a fabulous mum about to have fresh fruit and veg in the house again (!), I did notice a man look up but thought perhaps he was waiting for someone behind me.

In I went to select some peaches and out of the corner of my eye this man was now picking up a bag of apples. I headed over to the avocados (and put them back – who can afford those prices?!) before settling on some asparagus and sugar snap peas. And that’s when he popped up right in front of me.

He wasn’t exactly IN my personal bubble, but he was close enough to be demanding attention. He took off his sunglasses, and said “Hi. I think you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Are you Australian?”

Well that made me giggle and I replied that I was. I thanked him for the compliment. He told me he thought maybe I was Swedish. All power to my hairdresser, I can tell you.

Anyway, he asked if I was single, and I lied and said no, but thank you. “What a lucky guy he is,” he said, and promptly plopped the bag of apples into the potato display and walked back out of Coles.

It made my day. I finished my shopping and couldn’t stop little smirks and giggles from shining on my face. It was so lovely to receive a compliment, even from someone who I didn’t want to respond to with anything other than thanks.

It still makes me smile and I figure he was pretty brave to do it. Of course, it could be his modus operandi and I could be just one of his daily hits on dozens of women, but I really don’t think that matters! The point is, it doesn’t take much to make someone’s day.

In this life, we are often so serious, focusing on business, what we need to achieve, what we feel we must get done. We often keep to ourselves, to our lists and to our agendas and it’s easy to forget the power of our words.

This month, let’s look up from our phones, from our schedules, from our deadlines – and smile at someone. Give a compliment, reach out and share something nice, let someone know you’re thinking of them. You never know the day they’ve had, the stress they may be under, and the magic your words may bring.

Have a great month,

And, by the way, I like what you’re wearing today.

Abby x
PS Don’t forget you can reach me at [email protected]
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