February Favorite

This month I’m not going to select a movie, a book or a song to be my monthly favorite… I would like to dedicate the “February Favorite” to those people who make a difference in other people’s lives because they go “the extra mile” – even if it’s just a small gesture sometimes.

I’m talking about people like my American friend Kristen. Not only can I live with her and borrow her car whenever I am in Florida, she even lets us trustfully have the whole house, when I’m coming over with three of my friends. And she texts me almost every day (okay…sometimes weekly – but still…) to ask how I am…

Or people like my mom, I’m not only looking up to her because she is an incredibly successful businesswoman AND mother of four children at the same time but also because she drops everything whenever we need her (my dad and my siblings too, of course). And my sister, who always proofreads all the English stuff I write.

Or people like my friend Krissi, who rushed at my side and cheered me up when I was lying in hospital, who is always there for people and who is driving 40 minutes whenever we want to spend the day together.

Or my boyfriend who seems to have set himself the goal of making me a bit happier every day – either because he cooks for me and my friends/siblings sometimes or because he does my tax declaration (which I profoundly despise and can’t stop swearing when I do it myself) or because he proofreads the German stuff I write or because he lends me his car so I can get to work faster or because he writes me a love note every now and then or… I could go on and on…Sometimes I have the feeling he first looks after me and then after himself. And if I do the smallest noise (sometimes it’s just a little mumble because my computer does the opposite of what I want) he is already next to me to have a look what’s going on…

Or all those people who offered me to stay with them during some of my travels and to cancel my hotel – sometimes total strangers!

Or my Australian friend Andrew with whom and his daughter Charlotte I spent hours wandering around Paris and Versailles and who made me so emotional when he sent me a wonderful book about Paris from Australia to Germany last week – just because he had found this book in a store that reminded him of our time in Paris. Isn’t this the nicest thing to do?

Especially in the age of text messages, Whats App and E-Mail it means so much to receive a hand written letter or a little gift or even just a bit of attention and the feeling of friendship. A “I’m here for you, if you need me”…

In particular in this mostly dismal weather (at least in Germany) in a grey month of February where people smile less often than usual – or so it seems – we should spread our nice words and beautiful smiles very generously. Maybe we even infect a few people with it – and not with this persistent flu that’s going around at the moment…

It doesn’t matter if we smile at someone in the tram, say something nice to a stranger, help a colleague or send a little gift to a friend. I believe this is the perfect month!

And I am starting right now by letting my boyfriend P. have the mozzarella cheese of our tomatoe and mozzarella salad without forcing him to eat the tomatoes as well! XP

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