Welcoming strangers to the group

I have been working out regularly at the Y for several years and have gotten to know the regulars who come when I do in the early morning.  New people come and go especially after the summer break and the New Year.  I don't usually step forward to meet them until I see them continually for a few weeks.  But one woman keeps her eyes open for new arrivals and introduces herself to the new person and includes her in conversations as soon as she sees her again.  It seems to me that everyone knows her by name and she knows everyone else at the Y. 

She celebrates other people's accomplishments, praises new clothes and only tells stories about others when there is potential for the listener to be helpful. 

I once spoke to her about how I admired her attentiveness to others.  She told me that in the past, she had felt left out and knows how it feels.  It's one thing to develop great social skills and improve your own situation, and still another to use these skills to consistently get other people into happier situations.  You are a really good woman Rusty! 

Lost Button in St.Johns Newfoundland

I joined my husband who was attending a conference in St. Johns.   I try to pack light and realized when I got there that my only pair of slacks were missing a crucial button.

My husband dropped my off at the Avalon Mall and told me he'd join me later.  After seeking a place that sells buttons with no luck, I was directed to a Stitch It store.  The 2 women who worked there asked me to give over the slacks and wait in the change room.  Searching my purse there, I realized that I left my wallet in the hotel room.  The women smiled when I told them that I would have to wait for my husband to pay.  "No charge" they both said with a smile, "don't worry about it".  When my husband finally showed up, I tried to pay again but the ladies just said "welcome to Newfoundland".