The difference in the impact of having to deal with a nice person vs. a not so nice person is dramatic. A nice person can totally turn my mood around....it's so simple. Recently, I had three MRI's at the University of Miami, on Thursday, Friday and Monday. The staff at their MRI center is amazing. I am in and out of doctor's offices all the time. If I deal with one nice doctor, nurse or receptionist at a visit, I am practically skipping out of the office...although that is a stretch....but, I am in my mind! To be honest, they usually act like they are paying me...not exactly warm and fuzzy.
Maybe I am expecting too much, but these appointments are as close as I get to a social life these days...partaaay! Obviously, I don't expect them to make me a martini and say "So, what's goin' on Cathy???" ....although, a girl can dream.....hiccup...boy this dream feels real...where did the waitress go????
Maybe I am expecting too much, but these appointments are as close as I get to a social life these days...partaaay! Obviously, I don't expect them to make me a martini and say "So, what's goin' on Cathy???" ....although, a girl can dream.....hiccup...boy this dream feels real...where did the waitress go????
The appointments are physically hard on me and I dread each and every one. Because of this, I am miserable on appointment days.....so, back to the UM MRI center. I swear a celebrity wouldn't have received any better treatment. The receptionist and technicians were so incredibly kind, I hated to leave....almost! I know that everyone that goes in for an MRI isn't necessarily "sick". However, when you are sick, and getting to appointments is a grind, being greeted by smiling faces definitely lightens things up. There are no words to tell you how much I do appreciate a smile from anyone from the receptionist on up to the doctor. I would hope that they teach kindness and compassion at medical/nursing schools. I guess I wish they could walk a mile in my flip flops....for a Camel...just kidding, for a Vicodin...just kidding....for a Lychee Martini...hey, I'm not a kidder!
Basic kindness should be the norm, not the exception...everywhere, not just at doctor's offices and hospitals. Although, a cold, detached reception at a health care facility is absurd...in my opinion. Obviously, they are all not like that, but most really are. Through the years, I have said that it has to take more energy to maintain a stone face when dealing with others, than it would to smile and be kind...not to mention, that kindness is most definitely contagious :)
Obviously, they knew me by the third MRI at UM. When Jimmy and I arrived and found out that they were actually running ahead of schedule, I made a complete fool out of myself ....clapping and saying "Goody, Goody, Goody".....UGH...who says that??????? I was so comfortable, since having just been there twice...they felt like friends. My family and friends have heard me say that a trillion times. Anyway, at least I didn't clap and say "Hercules..Hercules..".(I will have to explain that to my parents!) I don't realize how I talk and sound, but for some reason, the "Goody, Goody, Goody" tapped me on the shoulders around fifteen minutes after I said it and I cringed..... well, that's what they get for being so sweet.
Obviously, they knew me by the third MRI at UM. When Jimmy and I arrived and found out that they were actually running ahead of schedule, I made a complete fool out of myself ....clapping and saying "Goody, Goody, Goody".....UGH...who says that??????? I was so comfortable, since having just been there twice...they felt like friends. My family and friends have heard me say that a trillion times. Anyway, at least I didn't clap and say "Hercules..Hercules..".(I will have to explain that to my parents!) I don't realize how I talk and sound, but for some reason, the "Goody, Goody, Goody" tapped me on the shoulders around fifteen minutes after I said it and I cringed..... well, that's what they get for being so sweet.
Okay, a new idea for my reinvention.....giving seminars to doctors, nurses and everyone in the medical field, including receptionists. I would love to tell it how I see it. It takes so little to make a not so great experience palatable...SO LITTLE! Of course, my daughter-in-law, Liz, wouldn't need to come to the seminar...or the Fenyus girls...
I guess all I really wanted to say today, is that if you have the opportunity to treat a stranger with subtle kindness and warmth, please do...we're all strangers to someone...it can turn a random encounter, in to a change in attitude for that persons day.....and hopefully, they will pay it forward. They might even say "Goody, Goody, Goody" :) they meaning me
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