A Smile in My Pocket

"What is in your pocket?" I asked Natalie. She had recently discovered the joy of storing small trinkets in her pockets. (I discovered her new habit after a tube of melted Chapstick wrecked havoc on a load of laundry.)

"I only have a smile in my pocket," she replied with a smile and I couldn't help but smile myself.

Sometimes little people have the biggest and best ideas. I'm mean, why shouldn't I keep a smile, or at least something to make me smile, in my pocket? I considered my options...Chocolate? No, it might melt and besides, the happiness is usually followed with regret. Money? I never have been good at keeping it in my pocket.

Later that night I headed to bed, pockets empty. Overwhelmed by a growing to-do list for a day that hadn't even started, I decided to unwind with a good book. I quickly came across this quote:

"Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”

~Life’s Little Instruction Book, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr

They were just the right words at just the right time. If only I could keep a friend in my pocket, I thought. The kind of friend who can tell you just what you need to hear, just when you need to hear it. Since, for obvious reasons this plan was flawed, I jotted down the quote on a pink post-it. It's been riding around in my pocket ever since.

The other day, in the midst of a hurried rush out the door, I reached into my pocket to find the post-it.

"Mommy, what is in your pocket?" Natalie asked.

"It's my smile." I answered with a smile.

"I didn't know that grown-ups kept smiles in their pockets, too." She replied with all the sincerity and curiosity of a three year old.

We all don't, I thought to myself, but we should.

Do you have a favorite quote that motivates you? Please share it in the comments section. It just might be the smile someone else needs to brighten their day!