The values of staying well grounded

couldn’t appreciate the enthusiasm and energy being created?

Now, I am sure all of us know someone who would have taken the opposite position; probably complaining to management or chewing out the wait staff for having their day interrupted.

Years ago, I was having a business lunch with a colleague and listened in disbelief as she loudly expressed her displeasure at the dishwasher stains on her cutlery.

hospitality worker.

A smile and a kind word or two can go a long way to encourage someone’s extra effort.

Hopefully, it will also help them feel good about themselves.

When you work with the public, you encounter all types, and I don’t think there is one age group which demonstrates the importance of being positive more than another.

My parents taught me to not be in awe of people with money, social status, or job title.

Instead, they said to observe how someone treats others, for that was the true measure of character.

We were having breakfast in a hotel restaurant this past weekend, surrounded by a dozen or so eight or nine year old girls, obviously excited about attending a cheerleading competition in the city, after all, they had practised all winter for this opportunity.

Suddenly, they spontaneously decided to demonstrate one of their routines right there in the middle of the tables for all of us patrons to watch.

Now I have four granddaughters, each of whom would have easily fit into this group at the same stage of life, so we decided just to watch the fun instead of grumbling about the noise and disruption.

From out of the chaos, our young wait - ress came to our table with a fresh pot of coffee, laughingly saying “You may as well sit back and enjoy the recital!”

She could have been upset with having to make her way around the boisterous crew, but simply chose to “grin and bear it.”

It was an unexpected start to the morning for all of us, but hey, who

Everything was clean, just needed a bit of polishing from the napkin, was all, at least from my perspective.

It was like hearing a princess complain about a pea in her oversized bed.

Get over it, buttercup, there are bigger problems in the world.

I try hard to recognize good service when I get it, whether it be from a store clerk, waitress, or

What a blessing it is to be able to be with people who don’t take themselves too seriously, for as the old saying goes “humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less!”

Vern McClelland is an associate broker with RE/MAX of Lloydminster and an active partner in his family’s livestock operation. Comments on this article are welcome either by emailing vernmcclelland@remax.net or calling 306-821-0611.