Grace Notes

If I had a daughter, I would have considered naming her Grace.  It is a name that feels both vintage and traditional while maintaining a modern air. Grace is elegant, classic, has a strong yet sweet sound, is simple to pronounce and easy to spell. -Grace-  It was also my great-grandmother’s name, Grace McIntire, who was resilient, courageous, and true to her name, graceful. 

I love  the concept of grace, the noun not just the name. Grace is an undeserved favor. Recently, on the way to work, I was engrossed in a podcast and almost missed my exit.  A woman in the sassy little sports car next to me slowed down and let me slide in front of her.  I did not earn this opportunity. She did not know me or any personal merits.  She simply motioned me to cut in line; I was given grace. Undeserved but greatly appreciated grace.

After that, I obsessively went down the proverbial grace “rabbit hole” of thought.  How easily it is shared. How often it goes unappreciated. How frequently it is there, all around. How it colors and lifts our lives.  Much like grace notes in music. Grace notes are ornamentation for the note that follows it.  A grace note is like a beautiful hiccup or twitch before the main note.  It is usually printed smaller to indicate that it is melodically and harmonically nonessential. Musically, grace notes do not change the tempo or beat. It is there to color and enrich.  Like the driver who let me cut in line, giving me grace did not subtract from her life, it did not alter her journey. You could say that her act was nonessential, but it was greatly appreciated. She was a grace note.

I started to notice how many grace notes are present in my daily life, the moments, deeds, and beauty that makes me say, “Ahhh”.  A child’s smile from the table next to me in a restaurant. The sunrise softened by a light fog hovering a few feet over the rice fields.  An unexpected compliment or the cool breeze on my face promising an end to summer.   All grace notes. I delight in each.  

As part of my course load, I teach a dual enrollment college class on a high school campus twice a week. Because my class does not start until mid-morning, I am usually the only person walking into the building.  Each day I am greeted by the security guard who holds the door open for me, and then hurries to the next set of doors to repeat the kindness.  And he never fails to ask me about my day. I pause for a moment, after we get through the second set of doors, and exchange pleasantries with him and then I’m on my way to class. We reprise the dance when I leave a couple of hours later.  Last week, on my way in I told him, “You are my first grace note of the day” and smiled.  After class, heading to the parking lot, the security guard stopped me and shared that he had asked someone about grace notes.  Then he said, “You are my grace note, too” and explained that he appreciated the time I take to make eye contact and wish him a good day.  My heart leapt for joy.  I was a grace note!  The next morning that I was on campus the doors were once again held open for me, but this time I was greeted with, “Good morning, Grace” and I replied without hesitation, “Good morning to you too, Grace” and we laughed. Now we have added this to our morning ritual.

I wish for you, my friend, a life mindful of the grace and grace notes that  adorn each day. Moreover, I wish for you the opportunity to grace others!