And then there was one.

After a month of family in and out of our house, I'm alone. All of a sudden the house was empty on Tuesday. Mom and Dad left to go back home and Mark left to go help Matt and Missy move.

I thought that I would have all the time in the world now - not that Mark is high maintenance, but when you're by yourself you have more time to do stuff or maybe it's just that I need to do something to keep from going crazy. With all this time I was going to blog, iron, and catch up on paperwork at home. Have I done any of these? Well, I guess I'm working on the first one, but the others...well... I have good friends who keep my busy. And doing things with them is definitely better than ironing, that's for sure.

So here's what I was going to blog about with all this free time I had found.

On Tuesday evening, after saying goodbye to Mark, I pulled up to pay for parking. There was an older gentleman in the booth. Here is what happened:

Man: $2, please.

Joy: ( hands over $5 bill).

Man: I just want you to know that your suit is so nice. It is very sophisticated, yet elegant and feminine at the same time. You look really nice. (hands over 2 $1 bills as he's saying this).

Joy: (Thinking quickly, I'm not the greatest at math, but I know I'm missing a dollar...do I say something? He was so nice...what a nice compliment. Do I let it go?) Thank you very much. Hmmm...was it not $2? (as I show just two dollar bills).

Man: Oh, yes. Oh, and you gave me $10, right?

Joy: No, no. Just a $5.

Man: (smiling) Oh, I was just so distracted by your outfit. It's just a really great suit.

Joy: (smiling really big). No problem. Thank you very much.

Man: Thank you. Have a nice day.

Joy: You too.


I was smiling really big coming out of the parking lot. I was kind of bummed because in one afternoon, I had seen both my parents and my husband walk through security to get on a plane without me.

And then, there was this man, so impressed by my outfit (black pumps, jeans, white cami, black T, suit coat) leading to one of the funniest, most guilt inducing ticket booth experiences for me. I was having a huge battle inside my head about that $1 - should I tell him? Should I let it go? I decided to say something, but I'm still wondering if I should have.

Bottom line: I'm smiling more about him and his compliment than I am about the dollar that is still in my wallet.

Money isn't everything. Sometimes a compliment is all somebody needs. Say something nice to someone today. They'll remember it - and may even blog about it, too...