Story #23: Smiling is Infectious

Smiling is Infectious

Just breathe, just breathe, and just breathe were the only words that were going through my head. Time goes by so fast, yet sometimes people do not stop and realize just how fast it is  really passing. Well, today those thoughts were going around and around in my head not wanting to leave. It hit me like a light switch that I wanted to share a story with other people. A story about one little girls hope as big as the ocean.
It all started with school, sports, and stress, and all three became a problem at one time. I could not just have one fantastic day, well until today, when it started with a smile. I had always believed smiles were contagious, but today that became something I would live by.
"Erin, Erin, good news. I found out when I went to the doctor yesterday that everything is going to be okay," proclaimed the sweet little girl Rebecca.
Rebecca was the cutest, brown eyed and brown haired girl in this universe, and she loved coming to me for hug and a smile. I had known her since she was a baby and having a neighbor like her was the best. Everyday she would come running to see me right after she got off the bus. There was one slight problem with Rebecca; she was not feeling well due to the cancer she had been diagnosed with a little less than a year ago. Stage three lymphoma was not going to get the best of this sassy little six year old.
"It is so wonderful to hear that everything is going good, sweetheart. How are you really feeling though after all your treatments?" I asked curiously.
Rebecca responded right away with, "Somedays are better than other days, but I always wake up with a smile and lay my head down at night with a smile. My mom told me to live by that, you should too best friend."
"You know what Rebecca, lets go inside to my room and talk!" I asked enthusiastically.
Inside we went stopping only briefly in the kitchen for a snack. Up the stairs, around the corner, down the darkened hallway, and into my colorful, freshly cleaned room we skipped. Sitting down on my comfy bed, we continued our conversation, "Rebecca, what does your mom say about smiling anyhow?" I questioned.
"This is a long story, but it all started with a poem called Smiling is Infectious. My mom began reading it to me when I had just gotten out of one of my first treatments.  I was not pleased with what was happening to me. I was frustrated, and I questioned why it was me that had to have lymphoma. Why couldn't it be someone else? All my mom wanted was for me to smile. It was then that she first read me a poem that would last a lifetime.
"The poem reads
Smiling is infectious
You catch it like the flu
When someone smiled at me today
I started smiling too!
I passed around the corner
And someone saw my grin
When he smiled, I realized
I'd passed it onto him!
I thought about that smile
Then realized its worth
A single smile just like mine
Can travel round the Earth!
So if you feel a smile begin
Don't leave it undetected
Let's start an epidemic quick
And get the world infected!
"That is when it hit me I had to live my life by that poem. Sitting here with you Erin makes me feel so little. I am only six, and what do I know about life? I do know that you should smile and infect the world because you, Erin, are beautiful," Rebecca said, beginning to cry.
Before I said anything I reached for her hand taking hold of it tightly. A few short minutes later she crawled on my lap and gave me the biggest hug a six year old could give. I had not said anything, but then I quietly began to respond with, "anyone that has a story to tell like you should tell the world. Just because you're only six means nothing. The poem you just told me, and your story is something I will always remember and try to live by. I could never imagine going through what you are with your cancer and yet stay positive the way you are. Keep doing what you are doing because you, little missy, are an inspiration to everyone you come in contact with. Sharing your story with people and pushing them to strive to live everyday with a smile is a wonderful outreach."
Rebecca then got up and quickly noted, "I better get home before my mom starts wondering where I am. "
"Sounds good, again thank you so much for sharing you smiles with me. You are such an inspiring little girl; you do great things!" I said wiping the last few tears from my eyes.
I gave her a gigantic hug and she was off, back towards home. I made sure she got home alright and returned upstairs to my room. I sat thinking. I reminded myself that no matter how old or young someone is, they can always have an impact on someone else. Rebecca was a great example. She was only six and had already had a gigantic impact on me.  
The little conversation that day with that little love bug gave me a smile that would last a lifetime, and not only a smile, but a story. A story that I am reminded of multiple times a day!  Infections can be tragic things, or they may just be smiles that change the world.