Esquimalt woman spreads smiles with signs in unexpected places

ESQUIMALT, B.C. -

Gisele Relitz doesn’t remember where she first saw the sign, but she’ll never forget how good it made her feel.

“I thought, wow!” Gisele recalls. “I’ve always seen signs that say ‘stay off the grass,’ don’t do this and don’t do that.”

But this was different. So — after printing, laminating and attaching it to a metal stand — Gisele stuck the sign in the nearby boulevard.

“I can see people walking by,” Gisele smiles. “And they kind of double take.”

And after they read the sign that says, “Please keep on the grass. Lie down. Roll around in it. Forget all your responsibilities. Have an ice cream,” Gisele says they seem happier.

“It’s literally brought smiles to people’s faces.”

And then some of the people passing started posting pictures of Gisele’s sign in local online community groups, including one that was liked by almost three times the population of their small municipality.

“It created a good conversation,” Gisele says. “Which is lovely to see.”

But then, Gisele woke up one morning to find her sign was missing, prompting her to post a plea for its return, and an offer to the person who “borrowed” it.

“If someone needs a copy,” Giselle recalls saying, “I’m more than happy to make a copy for yourself.”

Now — before we find out what happened next — you should know Gisele was inspired to post her first sign while using the bathroom at her work.

“And there was this great wall there,” Gisele recalls noticing, before committing to fill the empty corner of the cork-board with positivity.

“I started posting [signs] in the bathroom,” Gisele explains with a laugh. “Because it was the one place you could stay for a while and actually look at something.”

Over the past 16 years, Gisele says she’s posted countless signs in the employee bathroom — ranging from the silly to the insightful — all inspiring kudos from her colleagues.

“I want to bring a little bit of a (deep breath) and a laugh to come out of the bathroom,” Gisele smiles. “So they can go ‘Ok. Back at it again.’”

Which brings us back to that stolen sign. Gisele says she’s grateful it was returned the next day, and hopeful her small action may make a big difference for the person who felt compelled to borrow it.

“We all know that everyone struggles at different times in their life,” Gisele smiles. “And you never know who may see that sign on that day and it just turns them right around.”