The Holidays

We were at the checkout line after doing some Christmas shopping.  The woman ringing us up was going home after a long day.  We jokingly told her that we had all sorts of challenges for her, including a hand-written store credit from the manager, two identical items with different prices, three different gift cards, and some of their store bucks.  She rolled her eyes, obviously not seeing the humor in the situation like we did.

I apologized, asking how long she'd been working that day.  She'd been working long hours and was really upset because she'd been forced to work on Thanksgiving day, and even though she'd found coverage, they weren't allowing her to take off the day after Christmas so that she could be with her family.

I also learned that her husband had died at only 49 years old, of cancer.  She dreaded the holidays without him.  Her eyes filled with tears, as did mine.

We ended up smiling, as I again apologized for our crazy transaction.  She told us to be sure to come to her checkout the next time we shopped.  I assured her that we would.

Nick pulled out a business card and handed it to her.  He told her to go to the website and choose anything she liked, and he'd take care of her.

Her whole face lit up.  She looked like a different person.

I was so thankful to be well enough to go out and to end up meeting her.  I was thankful to see her smile and I hope that we made a difference in her day.

So many people are struggling, especially over the holidays.  I'm more motivated than ever to get well enough to get back out into the world.  I'm an introvert, but Nick balances me, and between the two of us, I think that we can make a difference.  I sure hope so.