After months of the arrogance, combativeness and secrecy of former Gov. Eric Greitens’ administration, the early days of the tenure of Missouri Gov. Mike Parson have been a welcome return to normalcy.

Imagine having a governor who:

• Treats elected senators and representatives with respect  rather than thumbing his nose at them at every opportunity.

• Travels around the state to listen to various groups, rather than lecturing them, then disdaining any attempt to learn what their problems are.

• Engages with reporters, rather than turning his back and scampering away whenever someone tries to ask him questions about the people’s business.

• Tweets homespun sayings, such as: “Governing is a lot like farming — you get out what you put in.”

Parson’s career in local and state office have prepared him well to lead Missouri and help deal with its many issues. His willingness, even eagerness, to work with legislators, education leaders, business executives and others is a constructive change from Greitens’ pugnacious, arrogant, “I know better than you” attitude.

The new governor’s quick move to add two members to the state Board of Education, so it would have a quorum and be able to move forward with important actions to help Missouri students, was a good example of how he intends to lead. Education deserves better than the shoddy treatment it got from Greitens.

With his recognition that, as he put it in his inaugural speech to members of the House and Senate, “the offices we now hold are far bigger than any one of us,” Parson struck just the right note. Rather than a drain-the-swamp mentality, he showed the proper respect for the institutions and the officeholders in charge, calling on them to do the right thing for the people they serve.

Perhaps most importantly, he declared that “we must always remember that we serve the people and the state of Missouri, not the other way around.”

In his speech, Parson called for a fresh start to bind the wounds inflicted by the Greitens fiasco. And while we don’t expect to like everything he does and every position he takes, how nice it is to have a governor who is leading the way toward working together for a better Missouri.