When I’m in a store, I find that I have to avoid eye contact with people. If I look at them, I can’t help but smile… and this launches a certain series of events, depending on their age:

- Babies are instantly mesmerized.. which is fun, as long as the parent is not paying attention. If the parent IS paying attention or catches me, they suddenly begin to babble in baby talk… making me want to hurl the nearby tic tacs at their head.

- Old people will want help. I actually do smile at them, and I’m happy to reach for something at the back of the freezer or tell them where the cereal isle is.

- Check-out workers will assume a smile means I want them to comment on every item as they scan. “Ohhhh… that looks good.” “Wow, what a sale.” “Someone’s hungry tonight!”

- Other random adults can’t return a smile with a smile. Many feel the need to fill the silence with mind-numbing small talk. I hate this situation worst of all… it puts me on the spot to think of something interesting to say to a total stranger. I usually just give a polite answer or laugh… and move along (but now I have to watch for them through the rest of the store so I don’t bump into them again). If I’m trapped in a line with them, then there is a whole lot of nodding and uncomfortable laughter.  Blah.

- If I have any sort of liquor in my basket, any guy in their 20′s within a 10 foot radius will always feel the need to ask where the party is. Yeah, I’m having a huge bash with my 6-pack of Zima.  (LOL… I miss Zima… don’t judge me.)

Don’t get me wrong… I love that people are nice and feel a sense of community when they’re out running errands. But I’m not a chatty person… I’m usually deep in thought about something trivial… and I like it that way. I spend my whole day at work talking… once I leave, I need some peace. All I ask is that you can the baby talk… and just return someone’s smile with a smile… that’s all anyone needs.