Don't I Know You?

An old woman, cheery in face and sweet in demeanor, shuffled into the library with her walker.

I greeted her from my seat behind the library counter. Her face lit up. "Oh, I haven't seen you in a long time!" she said.

I had  N O   I D E A  who she was.

She must have seen that on my face.  "What is your name, honey?"

I told her.

"Oh my oh my oh my, look at you all grown up! What a pretty girl you are! My, my how time flies."

Still,  N O  I D E A who this woman was.  So I asked, "And I know you how?"

She went on to put me in a class with her girls, and then remembered I was younger than that.

But I didn't go to school in the town I work in and when she realized I wasn't who she thought I was she saddened a bit and then instantly cheered, "Well, it is a pleasure to meet you!" she smiled.  She then made my day complimenting our wonderful town library.

She was such a dear.

She settled in to wait for her family who was using the computer while I went back to work.  But her sweetness stayed with me and brought to mind a conversation I had with my husband this week.

At the beginning of the school year, I saw a girl I had gone to school with.  For the life of me I could not remember her name.  Later, it hit me but I couldn't remember if it was pronounced Cas-ee or Cay-cee. So, I just have not said hello.

In my defense, she hasn't either.

But, the thing is, I DO know who she is even if she didn't recognize me.  And it is driving me crazy to not say hello.  And why don't I say hello?  Because I can't remember the correct enunciation of her name?

Her husband dropped one of their boys off this week.  HIS name I remember.  Matt.  You can't really mess up the name MATT.  But, because I haven't talked to his wife yet...six months into the school year, how sad is THAT (and in my defense, I don't see her often)...I didn't say hello to him.

When I told my husband this, he called me out. "That was rude!" he chastised me.  My husband talks to everyone...me, not so much.  At all.

"But I couldn't be talking to him when I haven't talked to her.  That just looks so wrong!" I defended myself.

Still.

How much nice would I have been had I not said "Hey! We went to school together and now your kids go to this school? Good to see you!"  That's all I should have said because every time I think back to then, that's what I know I should have said.

I could have been nice.

Why do I have such a hard time talking with people I actually know?  A complete stranger of a woman mistook me for someone she knew and was still sweet to me.  I could learn a lot from her.

A whole lot.

The Gift of a Stranger

Someone - who I don't know - has become the Christmas angel to our family today and will be the heroine of our family history stories.

Today I loaded up the three youngest boys and headed into town to get groceries.  I went into our nearby town of Wayland hoping to find some great fruit.

For Christmas every year I try to make something extra special for dinner and this year I was determined to have a big fruit salad.  It being Christmas time, fruit is through the roof in price and I had made out very specific list of only the items we NEEDED for the next three days of festivities.

There were some basics we needed but mostly it was all fun food we don't normally buy (soda, water chestnuts for a family appetizer, bacon for breakfast...).  The boys were being great helping me find things and not asking for all the other things that looked good (to boys, nearly all food looks good) and so I had let them each get a donut. They were thrilled, donuts are a big deal.

Making sure I had everything on my list and being thankful I found it all and kept to the list, I went to check out.  Amazingly, there was no one even to wait behind and we unloaded the full cart.

I watched the total add and add.  This was going to be expensive.

A lady came up behind me and got a divider out to begin putting up her few groceries.  I made little small talk with the cashier (Yes, these are all my boys.  No, one more isn't with us (he was on a special Christmas run with his Daddy).  Yes, all boys.).  I told her this was our last stop and we were headed home to enjoy Christmas.

The woman next to me in line seemed to be standing exceptionally close to me.  There was no one behind her but she seemed to be really close to us, just the same.  Not annoyingly, just enough to notice.

The bill was over 200 dollars.

I dug out the cash I had set aside for the groceries, wondering what I had to add to the 2 one hundred dollar bills I had in my hand when the woman next to me suddenly grabbed me in a hug.

Think about that.

A stranger just hugged me.

And then she began to whisper in my ear.

Because I was in shock at first of what she was doing, I can only paraphrase what she said.  But it was basically this...

"Please don't make a scene but please put your cash away 

and let me pay for your groceries.

I went to pay a layaway off and it was already taken care of so I want to do this for you.

You just take the groceries home and have a wonderful Christmas with your boys

and Pay It Forward yourself."

I began to cry.

She scooted in front of me and swiped her card.

I think the cashier's jaw dropped.

I hugged her again and thanked her.

I hugged her another time as I cried.

"Please," she whispered, "don't make a scene."

So I nodded and said, "Thank you."

The cashier handed me the receipt.  Her voice was halted as she brokenly said, "Have a Merry Christmas."

I hugged the lady again, thanked her and she told me "Merry Christmas."

S2 wanted to know why I was crying and hugging a stranger.

I got in the suburban and posted it on facebook from my phone.  Late tonight I seen the 50 some comments.

Later today, as I was still tearing up over the incident, I found the receipt.  It was for $210 and some change.  At first I had posted it was $225, guessing what the total had been because, honestly, that moment was a bit of a blur.

At various times today, as the boys and I made and frosted Christmas cookies, they would say, "That was sooooo nice of that lady.  You really didn't know her, Moma?"

I really did not.  I really do not think I could pick her out of a line up.

As we bowed our heads to pray for dinner of hotdogs and fried potatoes...bought for us by a stranger...Jake asked a special blessing upon this woman.

We talked again what a gift she had given us.

I don't even begin to know how to Pay if Forward.

We did nothing.  I went to the store for groceries.  I stood in line.  And someone just bestowed upon us a gift.

Not much unlike the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Christ came to earth to save us.  He gives us a gift, offered it to us to take - that gift of Eternal Life, the gift of a Savior - all we have to do is accept.

And be forever changed and blown away by the gift of it.

John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Please, find a way to Pay It Forward.

Not just at Christmas but any day.

I can tell you, the gift of it is amazing.

Never Talk to Strangers

My sister in law is laughing this week because of me. This is why...

I have long known I am not a 'people' person. I am perfectly content to sit at home and hang out here. I love chatting it up with a friend, A FRIEND, not a group. I fear groups. I am not sure why, I just don't like big gatherings.

My husband is the total opposite. Completely.

I have been trying really hard to more talkative out and about. The last thing I want is for someone to think I am snobbish. I may like you very much, I just don't know, because I don't know how on earth to begin talking with you all. I am perfectly content to sit there and listen to all you have to say, maybe chime in a time or two, but just soak up the conversations. That's me.

My husband thinks I'm crazy.

So I decided to start small. One on one with complete strangers. My theory? Learn to talk to total strangers one on one and a big room full of strangers will be nothing more than meeting someone one on one a million times over.

Yesterday I was watching Jr. He has an ear infection and the medicine gives him nasty diapers and he had had two. They were bad. So, I decided to take the garbage out even though it wasn't full because of the stench. On my way down the drive way (it was trash day), I decided to fill the bag up with trash from the yard.

It was about this moment that the garbage man pulled up. He looks like a Santa who is attempting to loose weight. I have assumed he likes to laugh a “ho ho ho” type of laugh, it would fit with his white beard. I smiled brightly and said “hello! Just have one more bag for ya!” He looked at me oddly. “Nice day today,” I added, brightly. He tossed the bag in the back of the truck. I went to peek around it too. “I've never really seen a garbage truck up close.” Keep in mind, he hasn't said ONE WORD to me. I am shocked to see....a dead chicken. Which would have come from our house. No doubt the boys seen it and tossed it in the can. I am sure the shock registered on my face. The man ran, literally ran, to his truck and mumbled a “have a nice day.”
“Yah, you too!” I waved. I will be hiding from the garbage man every week now.

Which brings me to today. Driving the boys to school this morning, I seen one of those toy dogs, all white with a big poofy tail. Girly dogs, I call them. I had never noticed this dog before, and I usually pay attention to such things. On my way home from school, the dog had made good time jaunting out of town, so, tying to forget the mishap of yesterday, I turned around and went back for it. I had seen tags on it and figured I would just call the owners and wait to see if they couldn't just pick it up where I sat on the side of the road.

I am bent down, my just washed hair falling in my face and totally make up less, still trying to get the coffee to work on my tired self. “Here puppy puppy puppy,” I called. The dog ran up, sniffed in my direction and ran off to pee on a tree. I tried again. As I was calling the dog again, a blue blazer pulled up behind me. He opened the passenger door and the dog just jumped in all wag tail happy.

Great. Busted for attempting to steal a dog.

I got in my suburban, and seen the guy wanted to say something, braced myself for the worst and rolled down my window. I then spilled my guts, “I am so sorry I was just going to see if I could call the owner I seen it this morning taking my kids to school and now I seen it way down here and I didn't want it to get hit honest I was just going to call.”

He stared at me a moment. “Where did you first see him?”

“At the train tracks on the way into school, and here now. I just know I would want someone to call me if my dog were missing.”

Silence.

Then he smiled nicely. “He gets off his chain. I don't have any idea how. I sure appreciate you stopping.”

I smiled. “No problem. Have a nice day!”

Well, maybe I can talk to strangers. I just wish it weren't all dramatic all the time.