the happy kind

everything is making me cry today. the raging hormones of the
christmas spirit. on the bus this morning, i greeted my driver with a
smile and a good morning. this is something i learned from san
francisco. those folks know how to honor their bus drivers. i sat by
the window and waited and waited to drive away and realized we weren't
driving. when i looked up, i saw we were waiting for an elderly man
at the door to scrounge together $2.25 to ride. before i had even
taken stock of the situation, at least three ladies and gentlemen on
the bus opened up their wallets and started pulling out quarters and
bills. "do you have it all? here, do you need another one?" by the
time the flurry of fingerless gloves had ceased, the man was handing
back coins as he had received too many. our bus driver said thank you
over the intercom. i was overwhelmed. i looked out the window and nearly
cried a little.

at which point, we stopped at the next red light and
there across the street was a mother standing with her very small
child at a construction site. the men in their hard hats and
florescent vests had stopped their work and were knelt around the boy,
showing him the rebar and explaining their task with smiles on their
faces. just a simple moment of strangers sharing the wonder of work
with a small boy. when i got up to leave the bus and walk the
remaining blocks down central park, i paused at the door and offered a
"merry christmas!" to the bus driver. he couldn't believe it. he took
my hand and said, "oh my! thank you dear. Merry Christmas!"

i wanted to be disappointed. does no one say merry christmas anymore?
are we so used to the holiday that we blush when someone actually says
the word christmas?

but no. i had to remember that i had already seen two
other merry christmases that morning. in the form of kindness and
quarters. and then, at my desk, i got an electronic holiday card from
a former colleague in korea. a giant image of a manger snow globe
with red lettering that shouted, MAY THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD SHINE ON YOU
THIS SEASON. and below it, "for there is born to you this day in the
city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

that's three good cries before 11 am. three good cries. because good
is all around us. all thanks to christmas morning.