Beautiful moments & jolly old bus drivers

It was tough waking up this morning at 6:15 for work. It was even tougher being happy and cheery all day as I greeted  members coming in to the YMCA. But something happened today that really made it worth it.

Let me back track to last Christmas break.

There is a bus route that runs by our apartment and around campus. It's called the Bronze Loop. We get on it every morning and get off it every afternoon. You tend to learn who rides the bus, where people get off, and you get to know the bus drivers pretty well (whether they are grumpy or quiet or nice or jolly). We had a particularly jolly bus driver who always was happy in the morning. It didn't matter whether it was sleeting ice or if he was almost done with his shift. Every time you walked on the Bronze Loop, you saw Mark's (the bus driver) bubbly smile and you couldn't help to smile with him. It really made my day and I enjoyed seeing him every morning. I mean bus drivers can impact a lot of people's lives. They are often times the first person we see in the morning and the last person coming home from school. If they are happy, you tend to be happy. If they are grumpy, your tend to be a grump. Well, Mark really made everyone happy. (Mark is this happy man with a white beard and large in stature -- he would be a great Santa Claus).
I wanted to show him how grateful I was for what he does and how well he does it. I made him a small Christmas ornament out of blue and red cardstock paper that looked like the bus he drove with the license plate reading "Mark's Bus". On the back I told him what a wonderful bus driver he is and that I appreciate all he does for us. I wrapped it up and tied it up with a little bow. Very small, very simple. I waited at the bus stop the morning before Christmas break and gave him this small gift. And I never saw him again...

Until today. Mark came up to me asking if there were any basketball games going on (his grandson is on a team and unfortunately there weren't any games today). I recognized him immediately and asked if he drove on the Bronze Loop once, and he did! We had a nice little chit chat and then him and his wife left. About two minutes later he comes back inside and asked me:

"Are you Vanessa, the one who gave me that bus ornament?....I cannot tell you how much that meant to me. No one has ever done anything like that for me, something so heartfelt. You made me feel like I was making a difference in the world, or at least here in Lafayette. I really have been praying that I might run into you so that I could thank you for that. I have never been as happy as I was when I saw that small little handmade bus...thank you..."

Often times you forgot what a small thank you can mean to someone. What a beautiful and wonderful moment that was today. It reminded me how much small things like that can impact another person's life. I hope to continue to find people like Mark and thank them for their happiness. Everyone needs to hear those words in their lives.