"It was a dark and stormy night..."

"It was a dark and stormy night..."


"One warm night four children stood in front of a bakery." (The Boxcar Children)


"Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife." (The Wizard of Oz)


"A wild, ringing neigh shrilled up from the hold of the Spanish galleon." (Misty of Chincoteague)


"The first place that I can remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it."
 (Black Beauty)


'When Portia Blake and her brother Foster set out for Creston that summer, it was different from all the other summers." (Gone-Away Lake)


"Oh Moms," Trixie moaned, running her hands through her short, sandy curls. "I'll just die if I don't have a horse." (Trixie Belden and The Secret of the Mansion)

First impressions are important. These are all quotes from favorite books of mine from my childhood, except for the first one. That one I had to look up to see where it came from (besides the Peanuts comic strip).  Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton at the beginning of his 1830 novel Paul Clifford came up with that famous phrase. 


Anyhow, back to first impressions...


How many times have I picked out a book at the library and scanned the first page to see if I'd like it? Sometimes, I never get past that page and I put it back on the shelf. Other times, I am instantly pulled into the story and find myself reading two or three pages before adding it to my stack. It comes down to first impressions. Of course, the picture on the cover is always part of that, and whether or not there are pictures in the book. 


Yes, I still like a book with intriguing artwork thrown in here and there. A book with a map at the beginning is always an added attraction for me too. 


First impressions. 


What is the first impression I give people when they first meet me? I guess it depends on where I am or what I am doing. If I need to run to the grocery store really quick for something, I may just go in my comfortable "at-home" attire with my hair rather crazy. Or, when in doubt, throw on a hat; they can cover a multitude of sins. The impression I may give is of someone who is too busy to care. I would like to think "free-spirited" or "carefree". 


When I am at work, I try to look professional, with a clean, ironed pair of scrubs with a touch of fun thrown in. A smile is part of that as it is just as important as the clothing I put on. I would like my patients (like the babies really notice) and their families to look at me and find me professional, approachable, and friendly.


If I was a book, what would my cover say about me? What would be the first sentence, the first pages that I would want people to remember me by? What would draw people in to my life and make them want to stay for a lifetime? 


After that initial first impression, what about the impression I make everyday to the people who see me and know me all the time? Today, my family would probably say that their first impression of me was one of Ebenezer Scrooge, or The Grinch. I am surprised they didn't send me back to my room. 


So, starting now, I am closing my book and reopening it. I am writing a new story for the rest of the day. I may not be Pollyanna (I would even get on my nerves if I was that happy), but I'd settle for Anne of Green Gables. 


Til tomorrow,
Love,
Dianne