She Shall be Known by her Mustard—Inspiration from the Drive-thru

What are you known for? What do you want to be known for? I can tell you, of all the things I might like to be known for, mustard is not at the top of the list. Actually, it’s not even on the list. But the other day I drove through Foster’s Freeze to get chicken strips and fries, my favorite, and the gal at the window, in her mask, said to me in my mask, ”I wouldn’t have known it was you if it wasn’t for the mustard.” 

You see, I am weird. From childhood I have loved mustard on my fries. Not catsup. Mustard. Not the fancy-schmancy kind, just your run-of-the-mill, stain-anything-it-gets-on, bright yellow, mustard-colored mustard. All together now, ”EWWWWWW!” I get it. I’m the only one in my family who eats fries with mustard. I have no idea why I learned to eat them that way, but they are yummy!

Through the years, the taste of fries in general has evolved to something I don’t dip in mustard–it doesn’t taste right. I think maybe Mickey D’s was the catalyst for change, and I love their fries, sans mustard. But there are currently two establishments I frequent whose fries transport me back to my childhood and insist that I must have mustard with them—Foster’s Freeze and a local hamburger joint. Foster’s Freeze is across the street from the community college where I worked until retirement three years ago, and I used to eat there often. But I live in a different town, so I’ve only been there a handful of times since then. I was glad to see a familiar face at the window when I drove through for my chicken strips and fries—with mustard, please! These COVID masks can make it a little hard to recognize people, so it’s a good thing she recognized me from the mustard! 😂

Seriously, though, how do I want to be known? Hint: it’s not for my mustard. When people think of me, would I want them to say, ”Oh, she’s the one who’s always complaining,” or ”she’s the one who’s always smiling”? Do I want them to think, ”Look out for her, she can be mean,” or ”she is a really kind person”? Would they think I have a positive energy or a negative aura? If someone notices or recognizes or thinks about me, I really hope it gives them good vibes. 

I’d like to have thoughts of me bring a smile to the face of those who know me. My husband and I seem to be unusually memorable, at least at some of the restaurants we frequent. They often remember us after just one visit  We almost always strike up a conversation with the wait staff, and before you know it we’re seeing pictures of their kids or talking about their college courses. We do the same with the checkers at the supermarket (but we keep it short and sweet—we aren’t those people 😉). We take note of their name tags and treat them as friends even if we don’t know them. In fact, I like to challenge myself with people who are serving me–whether it’s at the store, bank, insurance office, or oil-changing shop. If the person I’m interacting with is not friendly, I work really hard to make their day better. I may crack a joke or ask a question about something regarding them or their job, or simply share something from my day in an effort to make a positive difference in their day. Or if I have overheard a not-so-friendly customer complaining, I try to give encouragement to balance that out.

I want to be remembered for my genuine interest in you as well as my positivity. Am I always in a good mood? No, but I don’t have to bring others down because of it. I’d rather bring their mood up–and strangely, that usually lifts my mood as well. 

When I was teaching, both in high school and college, I occasionally had a troublesome student, one who brought the whole mood of the class down by their negativity and cynicism. I confess, when that student was absent, I knew we would all have a better day. I may or may not have breathed a sigh of relief.

Most of the students were just like most of us, with good days and bad days, engaged days and ”out of it” days. But I also had those students who always brought a ray of sunshine with them when they came in the door, and the other students reacted positively, as I did, to their smiling and friendly personality. Their optimistic attitudes uplifted the whole class. When I think of those two types of students, only one makes me smile. I want people to smile when I come into a room. I want to make the day better by being there, not worse. As the playwright Oscar Wilde once said, ”Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”

I have a niece who likes to play ”the glad game.” Have you heard about it? It comes from the book and movie, Pollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter. The 1960 movie starring Hayley Mills puts Pollyanna in a difficult situation of living with rich but detached Aunt Polly after her parents die. She gets through some rough times by playing the glad game her father taught her, in which the goal is to ”find something about everything to be glad about.” Throughout the movie, she impacts lives in the whole town with her sunny, optimistic personality. My niece excels at the glad game, always seeking to find something positive to balance the negative. She’s known for that.

Pollyanna elevates positivity to a new level, and it’s something that’s gained new traction as people are desperate to find ways to cope in 2020, a year of uncertainty at best. A lot of people have been trying to play the glad game during the pandemic. For instance, appreciating the blessing many of us are experiencing of having more time home with our loved ones. Or having time to do things you’ve been wishing you had time to do. It’s the attitude that makes us feel ”safe at home” rather than ”stuck at home.”

Playing the glad game has inspired the ”BeGlad movement” and is based on the ”Pollyanna Principal.” It’s a thang, y’all! The BeGlad movement was started by a woman whose mum named her Pollyanna after the girl in the movie and taught her to play the glad game. It would seem to be inevitable that she would start this movement to share inspirational stories. You can view her video here. 

Would you like to be as inspirational and well known as Pollyanna was for being a positive person? I would!

Mark Hamill is known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise. He played the glad game (maybe not intentionally) when he said, ”People think being remembered most for one character is a negative thing, but I don’t. I never expected to be remembered for anything.” Seeing the best instead of the worst in a situation is a gift to yourself as well as to others. 

Being positive is definitely a Biblical teaching. Proverbs 17:22 makes a bold contrast with ”A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” The apostle Paul in Philippians 4 tells us to “rejoice in the Lord always.” He gives the recipe for positivity: ”whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” David recognizes that God is the reason we can have a positive attitude even in tough times: ”Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

When my friends think of me, I want them to remember me as a positive, loving, genuine, giving, and dependable person. That doesn’t mean I have my head in the sand and don’t see the bad in the world, but I can play the glad game because I have faith in the fact that something better awaits me if I continue to follow Jesus. I choose to ”think on these things.” I want to show a more Christlike spirit and bring glory to God in everything I do on earth. That’s important because maybe, just maybe, someone will see Christ in me and want to know my Father.  

You see, that’s why I want you to smile when you think of me. Because anything I do should bring glory to God. 

When you think of me, will you think of mustard? Or will you think of the mustard seed of my faith? In the end, it’s not about me. It’s about the One who created me.

So now I’ll ask you again, What are you known for? What do you want to be known for? I’d love to hear your stories and your thoughts on finding and being an inspiration in the way you interact with others, and what you want to be known for. It doesn’t have to be a condiment.😉 Leave your comments below, and remember to sign up to get more inspiration in your inbox.