Little things mean a lot.
A you-go-first wave from another driver at the intersection. The guy in the supermarket parking lot who offers to take your cart back to the store. The out-of-the-blue call from a teacher to say how proud she is of your kid.
Those are the random human encounters that make us smile, and lighten our step. They make our day.
Then there are the little things that make every day.
Like the front desk folks at the Westport Weston Family Y. They’re there at 5:30 a.m., when the first commuters race past. They’re there at 10 p.m., when the last laggards leave.
A constant parade passes by. Women rush in, late for their spin class. Kids forget their passes. Men call from the locker room, needing help opening their locker because the idiotic lock jammed again.
They answer phones. They remind people — gently — that their membership has lapsed. And over and over and over again, they check people in.
A typical scene at the Westport Weston Family YMCA front desk.
They do it all with smiles, courtesy, and uncommon grace. Often, they go the extra mile.
They dig into their own pockets to refund money if the vending machine failed. They lend umbrellas to folks who forgot theirs. They call people at home, telling them their credit card was found, and turned in.
They greet us when we arrive. They thank us when we leave. They seem genuinely pleased to see us.
I’m not always in a good mood when I walk into the Y. I may have had a bad day. Someone may have shot into the parking space I was waiting for. I may not look forward to swimming for 45 minutes, back and forth in the pool.
But I’m certainly in a better mood after checking in at their desk. And I’m in a great mood when I leave.
So thanks, all you front desk folks at the Westport Y. I won’t list names, because I’d miss someone.
But you know all our names. That’s one more reason you’re our Unsung Heroes this week.