Share the Light

I worked in retail for 18 years. I worked seven years at a toy store and 11 years at a bookstore, and over those nearly 2 decades I met a LOT of people. But only a handful of them stick out in my mind as someone more than a passing face. Some of them for good reasons and some of them for the not-so-good. But one thing they all have in common is the frequency with which I saw them. They were the regulars. The customers I'd see week after week, month after month, for years. They were the families I read stories to for weekly storytime. I watched the kids grow. I watched the families grow as the kids became big brothers and sisters. And then there were some that would make me run and hide in the back room so I didn't have to deal with them. I learned names and created connections with these people I saw, some of them nearly every day. They were a voice I could recognize on the phone, a car I could spot in the parking lot. They were just as much of a routine in my daily life as my coworkers were. 

After 18 years I recently left retail for a different type of job. My last week was spent wondering when and how I should tell my favorite regulars I was leaving. Most of them I unfortunately didn't see, but there was one that I kept putting off. I was holding off telling him I was leaving because I knew it would be hard. He was there nearly every single day with his sister. They would buy drinks in the cafe and sit and play board games for hours and hours. They never bought much more than a few cafe items each day, but it didn't matter. They were staples in our store. He would walk around the whole store greeting every single one of us by name. He'd make a point to stop into the kids department where I worked just to say hi and ask how it was going today. If I was on the phone, a simple wave was never enough. He'd wait, patiently, until I was done with my customer and say, "I just wanted to say hi!" before heading off to the cafe again to resume his game. 

I was prepared to say my goodbyes to my coworkers and to him on my last day, but he wasn't there. I was a little sad to know I wouldn't get to say goodbye, but it was okay. I'm not very good at goodbyes anyway. Someone else would eventually tell him when he finally wondered where I was. 

None of us got the chance. I found out a few days later that he had died suddenly the night before my last day. I found out through an article from the local news online. When I read his name, my heart dropped. Surely that couldn't be him. I wasn't even sure of his last name, since we had only ever been on a first name basis. I laid awake all night trying to rack my brain, thinking if that could possibly be him, trying to add up all the pieces. But in my heart, I knew. 

This week was his memorial service. Eight of us from our store came to pay our respects. Four of us don't even work there anymore-- that's how much he meant to our store. He touched our hearts with his huge smile and joy for life. He was never upset. Never mad. Never let anything that was going around him get to him. He radiated happiness and he spread it around to everyone he could. I used to tease him in the cafe when I would make his Green Tea Lemonade that he didn't want any sweetener because he was sweet enough. 

I share this to help remind us all, myself included, as you move through life to think about the impression you leave behind you. You don't know who you'll meet and how much you'll touch them. You don't realize how much effect you can have on the world around you just by the attitude you carry with you. Take time to spread joy around you to everyone you meet, radiating light and positivity to everyone you come in contact with. 

I was miserable for a very long time in my former job, but for those small moments in his presence, I had a genuine smile on my face. He made an effort to seek us out individually and share his light and it meant so much in those darker moments. 

I hope I will constantly remind myself to go through life like Harvey.