Today I tried a crazy experiment. Let me go back to yesterday. I was kind of sad all day but went through all the appropriate motions and accomplished the work I needed to get done. Then today I dragged getting out of bed and the house, and while driving to work I realized that my lower face felt like a ten-pound sack. This has got to end, I said to myself.

I’d read an article a few months ago (I forget where) about a study on facial expressions. The research was done on people all over the world and it was discovered, not surprisingly, that no matter what culture we live in, we all use the same facial expressions to show similar emotions.

I also read in that study that it’s nearly impossible to be sad when you are smiling. So, as I drove up Route 113 I forced myself to smile. At first it wasn’t a regular, nice smile, but a Huge, Fake GRIN. I grinned and said “good morning” (no kidding) to a truck going the other way, to a speed limit sign, to a tree.

Then my grin evolved into laughter as I realized how silly I was being. But that was okay because next, I said, “Good morning farm because you give me something beautiful to look at.” "Good morning CVS because I can buy make-up there and medicine when I’m not feeling good.” “Good morning traffic light because you make driving to work safe for me.” And all the while, I was still smiling. The experiment really worked.

But that’s not all…

When I got to my office I smiled my biggest smile to Carol who looked at me sort of askance. After settling in at my desk, I looked out the window to check on my friends, Charlie, Charlotte and Buster who are always in and out of the bird feeder, when my eyes lit upon a bright, pink FLAMINGO inches from the window. In Pennsylvania.

My co-worker just had a feeling today that I might need a little cheering up. God bless her. After a while, though, we realized that Pinky had scared off all of our true feathered friends, but he had done his job and was put away. It turned out to be a great day.