"Have a nice day"

It was raining this morning, so I drove Sparkle to school. Along the front entrance of the school is a long stretch of sidewalk where five cars can line up. There are five bright orange cones evenly spaced so the drivers know where to pull up. Each cone is manned by one of the older students (typically fifth grade girls) who opens and closes the car doors. These kids are the "safety patrol" or maybe just the "patrol."

The patrol kids do a great service for the school in helping the car riders in and out of the cars. They have to get to school early and they are the last ones to leave in the afternoon. The few times that Sparkle is a car rider, the patrol kids have always been cheerful and polite. Whenever they open and close the car door for Sparkle, they always say, "Have a nice day!" Somehow the old phrase feels warming, and not hollow as if an adult working in customer service were saying it. I'm glad the school trains them in this bit of politeness.

Unrelated, when biking to school, I have Sparkle tell the crossing guards "Good morning and thank you!" as we pedal through the intersection.