My Story About the Armpit of Utah

There I am, working my little heart out.

Usually, I'm in a not-so-good mood when I work - I'm tired, I want to be home, I'm sweaty, and I don't like dealing with negative customers.

And then this adorable grandma comes up. She pays for her meal asking, "Can I write a check?" (and this reminds me of Thoroughly Modern Millie). She signs it with a beautiful cursive signature that only the old people have - you know the one?

When I inform her that her table will be ready in 5 minutes, she just stays up at the front with me. And since I'm on stationary cashier that night, I just stand there with her.

She makes a comment about how "this place is hoppin!" and I concur. She tells me how nice it is to have a place like this in highland. Then she proceeds to tell me how she just moved back here after many years. She used to live here when there was one red churchhouse and AF was known as "the armpit of Utah". She tells me how nice people here are. How she'll go to the grocery store and people offer their help because they "can tell [she's] handicapped".

I just stand there and listen, grinning. She asks me questions, like if I live in Highland too.

Basically, she made my night. And here's what she taught me:

A happy attitude is contagious.

Her smiles and genuine happiness made me smile. And I didn't stop for the rest of the night. Needless to say, that shift went a lot faster than usual. All my tasks became easier.

So I'm really grateful that woman came in...