Rob and Nina (Photo credit: Grace Church)
Week #2 – Say Hello Like You Mean It!
After his initial big wave, one of the things most people remember about Rob is his greeting: whether it was a flat and long “Heeeeeeey Grace!”, or a squeaky and high pitched “Neeeeeena!” when encountering our little guest dog, or a nonsensical “Jimmy-Jimmy-Two-by-Four” in a random five-second voicemail. Rob had a unique and enthusiastic greeting for each and every person he met. What about you?!
Your assignment for this weekend: say HELLO like you mean it! Consciously greet everyone with your own signature how-are-ya. I know people with a distinct “Hey!”, or “Wassup?”, or even a “Yoooooo-Hooooo!” Personally, I tend to make up nicknames for people as a sign of my affection. If you can’t think of something — borrow one of Rob’s, try something on for size, or make up one of your own! And let us know how it goes!
How do you say “Hello”? Spread the happiness…and share it in the comments!
9/26/14 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
Thats a greta photo…..YEEESSSSSS GRAAACCCEEEEE……I hate fridays now by the way. Looking forward to seeing you guys soon in OG…cant wait to be around family again! We will do a huge wave and a big hello in OG……MIss u Rob!!!! xoxoxoxo
YEEEEESSSSS GRAAACCEEE…how I loved that! It was Rob’s secret code for telling me to get in the moment and have fun! Rob made me forget myself in the best way…and it’s selfish, but I will really miss that. Thanks for the memory, Marlo!
I hate Fridays now too, but your message is always so positive and makes me smile. But that’s the point of this, isn’t it?
I used to hear all the nicknames of everyone Rob knew, even those I I never met. Always part of his greeting. But the best was always the high pitch squeal from seeing an animal. He said Tee Tee so high humans really couldn’t hear it and glass would shatter.
But in all seriousness, there was always such joy and enthusiasm when Rob saw someone, sometimes even if he didn’t know them. Sometimes ESPECIALLY if he didn’t know them. Hey, new person to talk to! And he had a way of making nicknames to greet people no one else could ever get away with. Something like Jimbo-with-no-limb-o would get most people punched but with Rob, nope, it was seen as affection. He made a nickname for Rob Nicholson years and years ago in high school and with that crowd of friends, it stuck. Shakers. Until the very end, he’d send random texts out of nowhere with nothing else. Just “Shhhaaaaakerssss!” It was the last text he got from Rob.
Love your post, Gina! Funny you mention the nicknames…keep an eye out for next week’s post! 😉