About ‘Ah, somehow not very Lithuanian…’ and the encouraging little slice of cake

Yesterday.

After finishing the day’s tasks, I was driving home.

Suddenly, I remembered that lunchtime had already passed somewhere along the way, and at home, the fridge sat with shelves creaking under the weight, not waiting for me to hit the brakes at the cafeteria I hadn’t yet visited.

The little cafeteria was full of people eating.

I looked around, searching with my eyes for how to order.

Which met the smiling saleswoman.

Really smiling.

Radiating such warmth that even without realizing it, my own lips stretched into a bigger smile.

“It’s my first time here…” I mumbled, not really sure how to order.
“Perfect,” she said, and led me to the order screens.
Three times she expressed mild regret that, of all days, so many of the best dishes were “gone,” but sincerely recommended: “the soups.”

“You won’t regret it,” she said, “they’re delicious!”
Thanking her for the advice, I slurped the recommended soup while one eye kept watch on that sweet lady:
She helped a little kid order, guided another customer, carried a tray for a child who had finished lunch, all with such joy that I realized I wasn’t just looking at my soup—which I had already almost finished—but at the good-mood energy bouncing around the room.

“Go praise her,” I mentally nudged myself.
I looked around. Lots of people. No music playing.
A bit shy.
How do you just walk up “out of nowhere” and say, you know what, you’re wonderful?
Kind of un-Lithuanian…
So I stayed put.

“Go on,” I tried to lift myself from the chair—but the soft, shy part of me felt glued down with “super glue.”
Finally, a safe idea popped into my head!

There were cakes on the counter—I’ll buy one, I thought—and maybe I could finally manage to say the good words I was still learning not to swallow.

“Dessert?” greeted me the cheerful woman.
“I’d like a cheesecake,” I said, quietly adding, “but more than the cake, I want to praise you.”
Bingo!!! I did it, V.!
Nobody freaked out over the compliment!

The saleswoman lifted her eyes, a multitude of happy wrinkles forming around them.

For the first time, I thought—how does she make a person feel so seen?
How her face just lights up!

“Thank you for noticing and saying that,” she said.
“I ate for ‘a little,’ but I felt like I’d had lunch at a fancy restaurant for ‘a lot.’”

And that…

I left full, holding a piece of cake I probably didn’t really need.
The saleswoman saw me off, beaming.
Almost literally.
Win-win.

I mentally patted myself on the shoulder for managing not to swallow the good word along with the delicious soup.
But it really didn’t take much for my mischievous little “don’t-praise-people” self to almost win: “ah, how do you even compliment… feels un-Lithuanian…”

My lunch for five(0) happened at Confeti Cafeteria in Saulėtekis.
And this is really not an ad.
Though… maybe it is. Let everyone be like that.

Praise someone if your heart fluttered reading this.
It really works wonders.