Yesterday it rained, and rained. This morning we woke to a dreary grey sky and more rain. It was almost like being back in the North of England. Except the people weren’t being quite as friendly. I think the bad weather brings out the grumpiness in New Yorkers. So today I decided to spread a little holiday cheer for my one good thing. 

I bought a cheap bag of lollipops (or dum dums?!) and handed them out to everyone I thought needed a little pick me up.  I gave one to the grumpy security guard in my local supermarket, and one to the guy selling hats and gloves (and trying to stay dry) on the street. As the rain turned to snow I took my dog for a walk in Central Park and continued with the handouts. To the dog walkers bracing themselves against the blizzard-like conditions, to the guy who’d popped to the local store in his flip flops and got caught out by the snow, and to the doorman standing out in the cold to help others get inside quickly.

Reactions ranged from bemusement to joy. Some people were blasé (or maybe they were so busy they didn’t look up to notice what I had handed them). My only negative reaction came from a woman in the park who told me she didn’t eat sugar and handing out ‘balls of sugar was hardly a good deed’ and that I should ‘think of something else’! I should have known. It is New York after all. My best reaction came from the Traffic Cop on the corner of my street doing a great job in miserable conditions. She literally beamed at me.

I hope I managed to spread just a little bit of joy on this dreary grey (and snowy) day. I know it made me feel better.