maybe it's because i hung out with a little stomach bug at the beginning of the week (aka i've been isolated most of the week so i'm starved for attention), or maybe it's because i'm sometimes too lazy to do it myself, but when a nice gentleman held the door for me today during my shopping spree, i couldn't help but want to reach out and give him a little hug. nothing creepy ... more just like a quick embrace (picture the way tough guys hug -- the two pats on the back and you're out kind of thing).
don't worry though. i realized even a brief squeeze would have been uncomfortable for him (not for me ... it takes a lot more than hugs from strangers to get me nervous, hence my occasional hugs with homeless people) and instead i just smiled and said thank you.
but was i really just so touched because the most attention i've gotten all week is from my head being inside a toilet bowl? i don't think so. i think i was touched because people these days don't use their manners. ever. they cut you off on the road (guilty as charged), they flip you rude gestures in their rearview mirrors (pleading the fifth on that one since mom reads the blog), and they shout their awkward cell phone conversations on the too-crowded bus seemingly unaware that this isn't the time or the place (i might do a lot of rude things, but i refuse to do this one. if you ever see me doing this, you have my full blogging permission to take my phone and hide it.)
now i know some people believe that in this day and age everyone can hold their own doors, scoot in their own chairs, and wipe their own butts. (too much? sorry.) and i agree with those people. everyone ... men, women, monkeys, exceptionally intelligent dogs, etc. can do all of these things. but agreeing that we can do all of these things doesn't mean that i always want to or that we should always have to. and that has less to do with my laziness and more to do with the fact that a simple gesture (ie: holding the door for someone) shows that you're able to get out of your me-me-me centered world for five seconds, notice the existence of another human being, and think "oh...that door i'm holding open for myself? i could keep it open 2.5 seconds longer for them."
and i just think that's decent. could i have held my own door today? sure. my bags weren't that heavy and even if they were, i'm blessed with two very capable feet that can kick open a door if needed (and knock an intruder on his/her butt thanks to self defense class ... consider yourself warned). and was it a tad awkward that the gentleman held the outward opening door from the inside of the store thus making me walk around him and slightly under his arm before i could exit the building? yes, that was a bit strange.
but was it worth it? you bet. because it showed that he knew he wasn't the only one in that store and that it wouldn't be the end of the world for him to keep the door open for a hot second more. in fact, it was so great he gets an entire blog about his manners!
so i salute you, slightly-awkward-but-still-appreciated-inside-the-store-door-holder. one small step for mall shoppers, one giant leap for manners everywhere.
