We ventured out early for a dental exam at 8:00 a.m. and then went to eat some breakfast at The Village Deli. Gene was surprised when they brought him plate sized buttermilk pancakes ~ and they were awesome. Stopped at the bank and stood in line with about 10 people and found my favorite teller to be extra chipper. Then on to Costco where the parking lot was a nightmare. I have terrible anxiety in crowds but I only needed to get in there & buy one of their gigantic apple pies to take to Portland today. On the way in, we stopped and chatted for a brief moment with a nice guy coming out of Costco who had traveled from Walla Walla and he said they needed to post psychologists strategically in the store. I got a good laugh out of that. Surprisingly, everyone behaved themselves and even though the lines were extra long, people were really pleasant & smiling. I talked with a nice woman and her 20-something daughter behind us in line and she had one of these hot water kettles that a friend gave to me about a week ago. It was a conversation starter. She was buying it for her son who is going to college in Colorado. I told her he'd love the kettle ~ it gets the water hot really fast. As we were walking to our car, I heard a little boy behind us tell his dad, "I was walking behind the wrong guy". There were so many people, the little guy was tailing the wrong dad. I don't know ... it just struck us funny & we found ourselves laughing out loud. Then we ventured over to Sears to look at treadmills. We're going to order one online but wanted to see what it looked like first. We walked the length of the mall and it was packed solid with holiday shoppers. Ran into one of my favorite co-workers (you know who you are!) and she gave me a wonderful, "you're my favorite friend" hug. On the way out of the store, Gene made a pit stop and I sat down next to a woman who is in town from Spokane to spend the holiday with her peeps. They all still had a lot of shopping to do but they were getting ready to meet up with her brother, who works at Tony Romas, for lunch. She was sure to tell me they were not going to Tony Romas for lunch. It struck me funny.
So, if you're wondering what strikes me funny, it's those awesome, brief moments of love that zap me on a day that usually I would not be caught dead going to the mall. I realize I'm not the only one who feels this way. I'm quite certain if a person were to stand at the entrance or exit of the mall and take a poll, it would reveal that most people don't want to be there at the last minute. But in spite of all that, I found all these moments that made me laugh & smile ... and I'm so glad I didn't miss it.
love, Susan
Wait.....you GO INSIDE A BANK often enough to have a favorite teller?? You mean there is someone out there w/out direct deposit?
ReplyDeleteI am always reminded of what banking used to be like. Remember in Haines, their hours were 10-3 pm. And you had to go there for EVERYTHING?? I am so glad those days are over unless I'm bringing my change jar to be automatically counted. LOVE THAT TOO!~
Yeah, I know, huh. Hard to believe people still use checks but I have one little income source still coming the old fashioned way. I sometimes wait two months before I get it to the bank for having to stand it line makes me a little inpatient at times.
ReplyDeleteSusan, you are so much like my Mother it is uncanny! In nearly every situation she found herself in, especially waiting in a long line for something, she would find something in common with someone near her and strike up a conversation. When she passed away I remarked to her sister, my aunt Marie, that my Mother often returned from business trips or vacations with a story about the nice man she met on the plane or the nice couple she met at her hotel and there was inevitably some conversation where they found some mutual interest to discuss. I told my aunt Marie that I felt I had shared my Mother with at least half of America's traveling public. My aunt Marie told me that one time my Mother was getting ready to go on vacation and Marie asked who she was going with and my Mother replied, "Oh my friend Christine from Plymouth!" When Marie asked how they had met, my Mother said "Oh we were standing in the same line at the Dallas airport!" I like to think that I am carrying on the tradition. I seem to find something interesting about people I meet randomly and enjoy a chance to make that human connection. I think it is important to do around the holidays because a lot of people are more isolated than at other times of the year, but it is also important throughout the year! Thank you for sharing your moments with us!
ReplyDeleteAhhh! Maybe I always had this in me but when I met Gene, he really brought this out of me. I used to be such a future tripper that I never noticed a single thing about all the wonderful things right in front of me. You could say I am wearing a new pair of glasses these days. Thanks for your wonderful comment. Isn't that just so neat that your mom never met a stranger?
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