Walking to the coffee shop today, I got stopped by one of those sidewalk sales/charity teams. (I have no idea what they were pitching.) They greeted me and of course I greeted them, super friendly, no defense in place. However, when they said, “Stop and check us out,” I said, with a huge smile, “I can’t. I have a DATE.” I’m still laughing. I have no idea where that came from. I don’t have a date (unless it’s a date with my manuscript?). Even better, the young woman said, “Awww.” It’s making me laugh again as I sit here at my little coffee shop table. Was she awwing about my excitement or was it because this little old lady is getting some action? (The last one is absolutely the funniest but both thoughts are making me laugh.) Where did that lie even come from? I haven’t been on a date since I was 22. SMH I may go to hell for that lie but at least I’ll be laughing.
Haley and I were at a thrift store a few weeks ago. She prefers to thrift her clothes and I love to watch how she chooses items. We had to park rather far from the store – it was a busy Saturday for thrifting – and as we were walking toward the entrance, I saw a man pushing a cart toward his car. There’s no cart return option at this thrift store. So, obviously, I offered to return the cart for him. What surprised me was his reaction: He was so pleased, so shocked, as though I’d offered him money or bought him lunch. He was unprepared for someone to do him a kindness.
I’ve been thinking about that a lot since it happened. Community is our first line of resistance and kindness is our best beginning. It costs literally nothing to be kind to others. We’re all struggling and if you’ve read any of Project 2025, you know that we’re going to be struggling a lot more. Forming community and protecting the most vulnerable in that space are essential actions as we face down the egregious destruction and evil coming at us.
Last week, I encountered an elderly woman as I was heading into Costco. She was filling her car and stopped me, asking if I would be willing to wait a moment and take her cart. Even if I hadn’t been headed into the store, obviously, the answer was yes. I checked the contents and offered to put the heavier items in the car for her. She said, “No, no. Those are heavy. I can’t ask you to do that.” Here’s me thinking, ‘Ma’am, you’re, at minimum, 20 years older than me. I think I can help here’. When I insisted, she fussed a little and said, “Oh, thank you. Today’s the first day I’m walking without my cane.” And yet, she didn’t want to impose by having me lift a case of water for her. Honestly, I wanted to give her a hug for even asking me to take her cart back to the store.
Have I ever mentioned how much I like estate sales? Haley and I went to a crafter’s estate sale on a recent Saturday and came home with dozens of skeins of hand-dyed yarn – primarily wools and silks, the most beautiful, rich colors. Imagine my surprise when my 18-year-old shows me that he’s already snagged three skeins of a deep red wool to crochet himself a blanket. Being a much faster crocheter than I am, he quickly needed to go to our local yarn store to find some complementary yarns. He’s added a deep purple to the blanket and it is gorgeous.
I just had my annual preventive care doctor appointment. My blood pressure is great. My blood work (which I get every three months) is perfect. I have appointments for my annual mammo and my every three-to-five year pap test. Last year’s colonoscopy was good enough that I won’t need another for 10 years. I even got my pneumonia vaccine (yay, asthma). We also talked a bit about how very lucky I am to be alive. Probably not a conversation most patients have, am I right? I think they – the doctors – want to be reassuring when they bring it up. Apparently, it’s a bit of a thing in the office – the nurses told the residents about the ‘miracle’. If the story helps someone else, it doesn’t bother me to talk about it; I still feel, frequently, that stab of gratitude for the technician who spotted an anomaly on a random CT.
Maybe I talk about it too often but I think it’s worth remembering the gift of a ‘second chance’, if you will. What does that look like? Should I climb Kilimanjaro? Run a marathon? Learn a new language? Travel the globe? There are, absolutely, a few trips on my bucket list – the Isle of Man which was my great grandfather’s birth place, a few more National Parks, Padre Island National Seashore again. More important, though, is my hope to spend more time within my little community. After all, it’s not where you go but who you are with on your journey.
Much love.
