The Prettiest Girl
You know how there are those memories that just stick in
your brain for years and years? This is
one of mine. It was an unexpected small
but powerful event whose impact was felt then, and whose lessons remain even
now.
Let me tell you.
It was nearly 25 years ago that our blended family visited a
local restaurant in
Who’s the prettiest girl in
town? We all think it’s you!
We all think it’s you, we all
think it’s you!
Who’s the prettiest girl in town?
We all think it’s you.
It’s not hard to imagine how a tiny pretty 5-year old girl
would respond to this song. She just sat
there and GLOWED. At last, this was HER
song. For months afterwards, she walked
around the house singing:
Who’s the prettiest girl in town?
Meeeee!
Who’s the prettiest girl in
town? Meeeee!
It was funny, and cute, and one of those adorable parenting
moments.
We went back to that restaurant again a few months
later. Our large family was seated, and
ordered drinks from the friendly waitress.
My daughter was – and is – an engaging person and so the waitress
particularly noticed this cute little girl.
And then, as we sat there waiting
for our drinks, it happened. There was
the sound of clapping, and a group of voices came from the kitchen. They were singing. They were singing:
Who’s the prettiest girl in town?
You are, you are!
My daughter sat up straight and waited for them to come to
her. After all, this was HER song. They must have realized she was here!
The singers walked past our table and stopped at – gasp –
another table, and sang the song to another girl. She was crushed. How could someone else be the prettiest girl
in town? She was! So, she did what any reasonable five-year old
would do. She burst into tears, and
crawled under the table.
Nothing I said could draw her out. Not her stepdad, or her brothers, or even her
beloved stepsister. She just sat there
and sobbed. Life was over.
Our waitress came back to the table a few minutes later with
our drinks, and asked “Where’s your little girl?” I explained the situation, and this young
woman then earned my deepest admiration.
She crawled under the table, sat there with my five-year-old daughter,
and sang her the song, just for her.
The waitress came back out from under the table, leading my daughter
by the hand. With tear-marks still on
her little face, she was beaming. She
was, once again, the prettiest girl in town.
Sadly, that restaurant closed shortly after our visit, and I
didn’t get to see that exceptional young woman again. But she’s still there, in my memory. I can still see her crawling under the table
to encourage and inspire a little girl.
Just because she could, without any obligation.
The biggest lesson from this one? It should be easy. We all have the opportunity to be kind, to
help, to listen, to make someone’s day.
Sometimes, it really is the little things that make the biggest
difference. That young woman may not have
realized how great her impact would be all these years later … but I certainly
do.
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