Simply Divine

"Hi! How are  you today?" I asked when we passed each other in the long sterile concrete hallway every morning.
"Simply Divine! Thank you for asking." She said without missing a beat, her face lit with the most wonderful smile.
After getting better acquainted, but still passing each other in the same way almost every morning, with this similar salutation exchanged for about six...maybe six and a half years...Something changed.

"Good Morning! How are you  this fine morning?" I smiled.
Her head tilted slightly, the smile came early, she slowed her step, and said deliberately, "I'm good really. Thank you for asking." Picking up her pace, she was quickly gone on her way.
I, on the other hand carried her comment's with me throughout the day. Was she ok? Was there something wrong? Why wasn't she 'Simply divine' today? I pondered that short conversation many times that day, and often since, as you can tell.

About 6 months later we passed our warm greeting's to each other and again she responded with her unusual reply, "I'm good today. Thank you for asking."
I stoped and called out to her as I walked back toward her, she turned and waited. I asked her, "Why are you good today instead of 'Simply divine?"
Her laughter surprised me, then she said cheerfully. "Oh, I'm 'Simply divine' on the day's that are to crappy to share, and I don't want to weigh you down with things neither of us can do anything about. Besides, no one really wants to know anyway. I'm good today, because you really wanted to know. And, I learned a song on my new hammer dulcimer! You should come by on your lunch and I'll entertain you."
We parted company and headed our separate way's when she called to me from out of sight, "Oh! And I always mean to thank You for asking! It means a lot to me, See ya at lunch!"

That conversation stuck with me for a long time as well.
In fact just this morning I relived those conversations, and learned from them yet again.

We often ask people 'How are you?", without really caring...it's just a nice thing to say.
We often don't tell people 'How we are', because it's to crappy to share...and they are often just asking out of courtesy. 

I also contemplate the good that comes from smiling big and saying, "I'm fine as frog hair! Thank you for asking!" 

Because I have become much more aware of that fact that, what we send out really does come back to us.

And for the record...
"How are you?"
"I'm good today. Thank you for asking."   =)