Make Them Smile - originally published January 28,2011

Josh can always make Emma smile

Last Sunday when we went to bed we were all hoping school would be cancelled the next morning.  It was already below zero so it wouldn’t take much to get cold enough for no school.  Sadly, the clouds came in over night and warmed things up a little.  It was still cold just not cold enough to get out of school.  We were all disappointed, but Joshua was truly distressed.  He cried and begged to stay home.  He said that he felt so self conscious at school that it was painful.  Oh dear!  I remember that pain, that feeling that everyone is watching and judging you.  Eighth grade is just torture.  I sent him to school with a challenge to forget himself and try to make others smile.  I told him I would ask him when he got home how many people he had made smile.

He was happy and confident when I picked him up from a student council meeting later on.  He said that after third hour he’d lost count of how many he’d made smile, but he’d done seven up until then.  It was amazing how much happier he was.  The truth is that you simply can’t be happy when you are filled up with thoughts of yourself and your own perceived inadequacy.  The only way to be happy is to forget yourself.