What's the Best Thing About Your Day?
Joyce Moseley Pierce

I have a friend named Alene who will call for
nothing more than to say hello and see what I'm doing.
We may talk for just a few minutes, but before she
hangs up, she'll say, "Tell me, Joyce. What has
been the best thing about your day?"

Alene recently presented this question to my 86 year
old mother. She had had a pretty uneventful day, in
my opinion, so I was curious to see how
she would answer. I had to smile when her response
was, "Making valentines." She had spent
some time that day writing notes on some
Valentine computer paper I'd given her. She was writing
notes and making her own personal valentines. It
touched my heart to know that making that effort to
express her love to her family was the best part of her day.
It also made me a bit sad to think that I had been so
busy working that I hadn't taken the time to share
that activity with her.

When Alene's husband comes home from work, she
stops what she's doing and asks, with a big smile
on her face, "So, honey, tell me. What was the best
thing about your day?" When she first started this
exercise, he probably had to stop and think about
it before he could answer. Now that she asks it on
a daily basis, I'll bet he has reflected on
the events of the day during his drive home and has
an answer all ready for her. Don't you know that
this is a husband who is eager to get home to his
wife each evening?

So many of us routinely say, out of habit and
without really wanting an answer, "How are you"?
More often than not, the reply will be, "Fine."
It's understood that the asker doesn't really want
to know how you are, and if you do respond negatively,
people don't know what to say!

But what a difference it makes when you really
step outside yourself for a minute to find out
what makes someone else happy?

First of all, it makes you look back at your
day for something positive. You might have
had a generally lousy day, but that's not
what you're being asked about. You're
required to tell about the best part of
the day. Maybe it's making valentines.
Maybe someone smiled at you. If you can just
find one ray of sunshine, it will help the
darkness fade away.

Secondly, it makes you feel important because the
way the question was asked tells you that they
are anxiously waiting for an answer. They really
want to know what made you happy that day. They
are excited to hear about it. What a wonderful gift
for someone to give of themselves in this way.

Thirdly, when you ask the question and they
respond positively, you can't help but smile.
So the nice gesture to inquire about their day
also offers something positive to yours.

You will be surprised at the answers you'll
receive. There's a different answer for every
situation, and you will be surprised at how
much you learn about others and how little
is required to be the best part of their day.

The first time Alene asked me The Question,
I struggled with an answer. The last time
she asked me, I was ready. "Why, the best
part of my day is that you called me," I said.

You know what her response was? "Well, Joyce,
that was the best answer you could have given me."

Isn't it wonderful?

Now...try the experiment for yourself and see
how many lives you can bless.