I Love You?

ME: We received another complaint that we weren't "friendly" or "convincing" enough when we said "have a nice day". 

MICE ELF: Is this from the same people who tell us we "should smile more"?

CP: Probably. Really enjoyed the anonymity of the masks; and not being told to "smile more". Now I have to reteach my face to behave. Its inner RBF was allowed to be untethered under the masks. What's this I hear about a complaint? 

MICE ELF: ME just said we didn't greet someone with enough pheeling. 

ME: Poor baby. How ever does she make it through her day? 

CP: I love you. 

MICE ELF: Huh? Um. I love you, too?

ME: Awww. And I love you. 

CP: Do you really love me? Or were you just parroting what I said because I said it first? 

MICE ELF: I am so confused right now. 

ME: ME too.  

CP: Think about those words. I. Love. You. How many times have you said them? How many different ways have you uttered those words today? In your life? As a child to your parents? As an infatuated teenager to your amour? In the heat of the moment? As a parent to your child? On the phone, ending a conversation? In each of those instances, the way you say "I Love You" and the intensity behind those words changes. Your intention is the same, to impart your feelings of love towards that person. Is a hasty "loveyoubye" different from an "I love you. Have a great day!" as you both head off to work or end your lunchtime phone call? No. It's become a quick sign off. It doesn't mean anything less based on how tired or trite it may sound when the other person says it. 

ME: You're saying "have a nice day", when repeated ad nauseum throughout a long day, can come across as less than enthusiastic but it doesn't mean we wish them any less happiness? That it reflects how we are feeling at that moment?

MICE ELF: True. I can just hear these same people complaining that their children or spouses "didn't say 'I Love You' with enough spirit and joie de vivre". 

CP: Precisely. Can't you just see it?

Angry Little Elf: Say it.

SMART Angry Little Elf's Kid: I love you. 

ALE: Do you?

SMART ALEK: Yes. 

ALE: Really?

SMART ALEK: Really really. 

ALE: Say it like you mean it. With conviction!

ME: Some days, I'm just not feeling it. 

MICE ELF: And that's okay. Reflexively replying with "I love you" or "I love you too" in whatever tone you can muster does not detract from the intention of the feeling behind it. 

CP: If someone is polite enough to acknowledge your presence, your very existence with a pleasantry, "hello", "good morning", "have a splendid day", accept it and move on. But don't ever complain about their sincerity based on how you heard their tone or that she didn't smile. 

ME: If there are two ways to interpret something, and one of them is negative, why do patients always choose the negative one? 

MICE ELF: To feel better about themselves?

CP: It's amazing to me how difficult it is to take a compliment anymore. 

ME: Because we don't hear them often? 

CP: You are wise beyond our years, ME. 

#ItsNotMeItsYou 

#SometimesItsNiceToBeNice

#DontReadTooMuchIntoIt 

#WhyYourPharmacistHatesYou 

#PSILoveYou