Life is good in my little corner, and I am determined to let it continue that way. I feel like I am surrounded by very wonderful people...I think most of us are, if only people would look up once in a while and take it all in. The other day, I had to make a run into a nearby town that we don't often frequent for an errand. After some necessary shopping, my red-headed helpers, Squeaky D and Ella Forever, had gotten pretty crabby and were nearly dying of hunger. I had promised I would take them to lunch if they would bear with me and so I made true on that. We ended up in a Wendy's and they were both sitting across from me in a booth as they devoured their chicken nuggets. D's nuggets were gone in seconds and he was suddenly VERY full and could think of nothing more than the toy that must have come with his meal, but had been strategically hidden in his mother's bag...because this isn't her first rodeo. Since Ella and I had only gotten a few bites into our meals, I had asked him to please sit up, work on his french fries and tell us about what he was looking forward to in school the next day. He grumbled and instead began sliding off of the booth seat and under the table, to which I did my best to ignore. When that didn't get enough of a reaction out of me, he began to slide into the aisle to the side of the booth. He just so happened to plop onto the floor right in the way of an older gentleman carrying a tray of food, his wife shuffling behind him. From the corner of my eye I could see his scowl and though he regained his balance and his wife chuckled at the incident, I could feel the annoyance. I sternly reprimanded D and told him he needed to sit up in his seat as he had been asked to if he wanted the hidden toy after we were all finished. The older couple sat across the dining room and much to my chagrin, I soon could see the man waving at me from his table. At first I avoided eye contact, but he continued, waving bigger, so I looked up to see him holding out a small Frosty in our direction. As our eyes met, he claimed they had been given one more Frosty than they had ordered (though there was only one other on the tray) and they both insisted that we take the extra one. I tried to decline, but they persisted and the man so much reminded me of my Grandpa who just happened to have passed away 4 years ago this week and had been on my mind, that I graciously accepted. Upon returning to our table with the treat, I was greeted with squeals from D and Ella. I grabbed some spoons and as I was unwrapping them, I suggested that they get up and go thank the couple for doing such a nice thing even when we possibly weren't behaving our best. To my surprise, D immediately jumped up and trotted over to their table and very stiffly said "thank you!" The woman got up from their table a bit later to retrieve a napkin and as she passed by she laid a hand on my shoulder and said, "you know it's true...it truly does take a village." No truer words have been spoken.
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| Our ice-cream gifting couple can be seen in the upper left corner of this pic...if you can peel your eyes away from the giant bite Ella is about to take. |
A small gesture...yes, but I took away so much more from the encounter. I don't know who they voted for or what their religious philosophies are...they were and still are true strangers to me. And they knew nothing about me other than I had a bratty kid at the moment who was trying (and succeeding) to push every one of his mommma's buttons. They could have very easily grumbled on and laughed about the run for her money that kid was giving his mother, but instead diffused the situation and turned our little meal on its head...in a very positive way. It DOES take a village and I am proud to be a part of this one. In all of our differences we have so much to learn about each other and THAT is what I hope my kids can glean from their upbringing and the village that has a million hands in it. This here is where my focus needs to be today and every day. So...farewell, Facebook. Hello, Naptime Monologues.
