Learning to Smile Again

Our brave new mask wearing world is forcing me to learn how to communicate all over again…

You had young patients who were in the “lungs” for a time. I can only imagine the comfort they experienced when your face smiled at them from the mirror. You had a great bedside manner and I watched you calm many an anxious patient or parent. Your face inspired confidence and even love. 

Blanchet, Frank. “My Father Survived the Polio Epidemic and Spanish Flu – Here’s What I Learned From Him | CBC Parents.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, September 1, 2020. https://www.cbc.ca/parents/learning/view/my-father-survived-the-polio-epidemic-and-spanish-flu-heres-what-i-learned.

Blanchet also writes: “You smiled with your eyes as you removed the mask at the end of a hard day.”

Mask wearing is our new normal. When I’m walking up and down the grocery isle, when I’m at work and passing co-workers and the lovely people I get to serve each day, I must always remember how important my face is.

My face is a connection point. A vital one.

As Blanchet so amazingly pointed out, our face can transmit comfort. Our face can bring calm and reassurance that we, or the one we are encountering, are not alone.

When my face is covered up to my nose, all that I have left to smile and bring comfort with are my eyes.

I must be purposeful and intentional with how I use my eyes each day.

I can make them smile.

I can go beyond just looking at someone when I am speaking or visiting with them: I can let them know that I see them with my eyes.

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How are you using your eyes as you connect with people around you?