Looking For Love In All The Right PlacesTonight when I went to pull out my heart covered dish towels for February I realized the last year had not been kind to them…and by ‘last year’ I mean ‘me.’ They were ratty and stained with coffee and wine among God knows what else, so they were banished to the dust rag drawer instead of adorning their usual spot on the stove. It dawned on me that with Valentine’s Day around the corner I could likely find something similar so I decided to run to the dollar store before they closed because I’m obsessed with things that have my last name on them and this is the perfect time of year to stock up on all things LOVE.
Needless to say I made out like a bandit. See exhibit one:
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Gift boxes, ribbon, stickers AND replacement dish towels! I grabbed a few other silly gifts for my interns and made my way to the check out stand. There was one woman ahead of me so I set my reusable bag filled with stuff down, thinking I didn’t need the wand to distinguish my purchases from hers. I got on my phone and spaced out for a second until I realized she was gone and the cashier was ringing up stuff on the belt that wasn’t mine. I informed him as such and then heard a voice say, “Hold on, that’s mine-I’m coming around!”
An elderly man in a wheelchair with a long Santa beard appeared from behind another aisle. His hair wasn’t very clean, his clothes were in disrepair and he was shuffling his chair with his feet as his arms were filled with vegetable oil. “I’m sorry! I had to go back for cooking oil!”
I smiled and moved so he could pay the young man at the register. The old man looked sheepish and laughed as he informed me “I forgot eggs, too, but I’m not going back now!” He paid, took his bags (which once again filled his arms), then began pulling himself out of the store a la Fred Flintstone.
I asked the cashier to add eggs to my order and he sent a young woman to get some while he figured out the requisite code to punch in. I stepped out the door to tell the man to wait and as I did I saw him angrily grab a shopping cart on the sidewalk and fling it onto its side. The loud crash was startling and it occurred to me he might have mental health issues. I returned inside and began to question the intelligence of engaging with this man. I figured I could just keep the eggs so I took them from the stock girl and went to leave. When I got outside the store I saw this:
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People had filled the entire front of the store with carts so that there was literally no way for this man to leave without pushing them all out of his way. I realized I had just assumed he was angry and possibly crazy; now I was a little angry. He was nowhere to be found so I walked to the street and looked both ways. I spotted him cruising towards 12th so I took off yelling while clutching the eggs, “Sir! Sir, wait!”
I caught up with him pretty quickly since I was fortunately in running shoes not heels (though I’m pretty fast in those when need be). His face lit up when I handed him the eggs and I explained that my mom has spent a lot of time in a wheelchair so I know it’s not easy to get around but that was no reason to not have eggs. He looked over his shoulder to where I had just come from then grabbed my hand, turned it over, and kissed the top of it. “Look how far you went to bring me eggs! Thank you!”
The truth is I ran less than a quarter block, but to him it was a great distance. My eyes filled with tears as I was reminded that so many things I get to do every day I take for granted.
I always put my grocery cart back in the pen with the others but tonight I rounded up a few more. Next time you see a stray cart on your way out of Fry’s or TJ’s, please think about putting it away. You never know who you might be helping.
On a deeper note, I’ve not been good at expressing gratitude lately and I think tonight was the Universe’s way of reminding me I need to come back to this blog. I know from experience that consciously focusing on the good in people, in life, in myself, is one of the easiest and fool proof ways of achieving happiness. I went looking for LOVE and ended up finding it- not stamped on the side of a cardboard gift box made in China but in the sparkling eyes of a grateful stranger.
10. I am grateful for the egg frittata I baked myself this morning while getting ready for work.
9. I am grateful for the hike I squeezed in just before sunset.
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8. I am grateful for the conversation I had with Mike about the issues firefighters and cops have in family court.
7. I’m grateful for the phone conversation I had with PBS.
6. I am grateful for my mama who raised me to believe that we have a moral obligation to help out those in need.
5. I am grateful for professional advice I sought and received from Katy today.
4. I am grateful for Big League Chew.
3. I am grateful for the chat Lesli and I had about an upcoming charity dinner.
2. I am grateful for the excited welcome I received from Gracie and Couscous when I got home from work and my hike…even though twelve hours passed before their first sighting and only 45 minutes elapsed before the second, they were equally jazzed to greet me as though I’d been gone for days.
1. I am grateful to once again be back in my happy place. See you tomorrow.