All because of a little kindness

Today I waited on this couple from Little Rock. Right away, they told me they were on vacation, and a friend of theirs had highly recommended our restaurant. So right away, Alison Hamm turned on the charm.

As I was telling them about the restaurant's focus on local, organic products and recycling, I realized they were both giving me their full attention. It kind of threw me off my game a little bit. Kind of sad that people paying attention to me when I'm waiting on them unnerves me, but hey, it doesn't happen as often as you might think.

I recommended some food and beers, and the man took my advice and ordered an Alpha King. The woman got an iced tea. For some reason, this truly delighted me. As I continued to check on them throughout their meal, they were both so damn NICE to me, I felt compelled to tell them all these things about myself. (I never feel compelled to tell customers things about myself.) I caught myself telling them how I went to school at IU and loved the Upland Brewery, how I had lived in Indiana for practically my whole life but had never been to the Indy 500, and how I'd just moved back home from Chicago.

The whole time they nodded, smiled, and made friendly banter back. I swear, if they'd invited me, I would have plopped down in that booth and told them my life story. I was beginning to feel a bit ridiculous. It's not like any of my other customers were rude or unfriendly today. But something about this particular couple just warmed my little waitress heart.

When I gave them their check, the woman thanked me, and told me how nice I was. She then told me, "You're very pretty, too," like she'd been debating whether or not to say it, but actually meant it. She smiled a big, genuine smile at me.

I smiled back and said, "Thank you." And I really meant it. As I walked back to the kitchen with their dirty plates, I felt a little bit of the weight that's been on my heart since I moved back lift. All because of a little kindness.

Then I promptly slammed into the kitchen manager and dropped a knife on the floor.