Written March 23, 2023

Day 30 of 40 in a 45-day period: A few summers ago we were in the OC the last week of August. Going to the beach at the end of the summer has its perks - less traffic, waits at restaurants are shorter, beach encroachment lessens, and at the boardwalk, the lines for rides are non-existent.

The perks of going late in the season are particularly helpful when you vacation with young children who have low, low tolerances for slowly moving traffic, waiting to be seated but your food is not ready on demand, and why you can’t sit on someone else’s beach blanket because you feel like it.

The challenge of going late in the season is that nearly every business is down to bare bones when it comes to staffing. Most students have gone back to school, teachers are back at work or getting ready to return, and the staff that remain are burnt out and counting the hours to Labor Day.

We were preparing to take our kids down to the boardwalk one afternoon and H decided she was going to make Thank You tickets to give to the people working the rides. The fact that she came up with such an idea was not surprising as H was often looking out for others.

What was surprising was how taken aback and appreciative the people were who received her tickets of thanks. The girls had wristbands so the people waving H and C through were unsure what was being handed to them. When they saw their ticket, their faces would break into a huge smile. One woman started crying. A small gesture of thanks from a six-year-old had perfect timing.

I believe you can tell a lot about a person based on how they manage doors, strollers and coffees. Do they hold the door open or apologize if they realized they could have? Do they offer to help you carry your stroller up or down the stairs? Do they know a coffee is so much more than a coffee? It’s not about the act but the thought behind the act that has such power in turning one of those days or seasons around.

I imagine the people working the rides that day could have benefited from a coffee. However a small ticket of thanks for showing up, even at the very end of the summer, may have carried them across the Labor Day finish line with a smile.