Meet Rose

I think I must be walking around with a frown or a distracted look that begs some kind of intervention, or maybe that’s just how I feel on the inside, but I can say with certainty that dear little Miss Rose put an end to that in a hurry.

I went to the post office during my lunch hour and had the pleasure of watching her in action while I waited in line. It’s a small town post office, the kind where everybody knows everybody else. There’s only one clerk at the counter, and Miss Rose not only had to engage her in a long conversation, but she also demanded to talk to everyone working behind the scenes, too.

I looked at my watch.

Nobody cared that I was looking at my watch.

When Miss Rose finished spreading her cheer, I posted my letter and tried to get out of there quickly, but of course, the only way to do that was to run over her, so instead, I walked along with her and held the door for her. She thanked me and smiled, and I had to smile back because, well, I know better than to be rude. That’s when she caught me in her web.

“Would you like to hear a joke?”

How could I resist?

“I’d love to hear a joke,” I said, and for that moment, I really did love hearing her joke. It was cheesy. And dumb. And I’ve heard it a dozen times, but it made me laugh out loud as only a cheesy joke can.

That’s all the encouragement she needed, so she regaled me with two more jokes. I laughed at those, too. That’s when I asked her if I could take her picture. I want to be this full of life when I’m that age. I explained I’d probably write about our encounter and that seemed to delight her.

When I was done, she said she had one more thing for me, a hug. So crusty old me got a hug from a random stranger. I’m not even cootified by the thought of it.

Rose got me good with her jokes. So good, in fact, that the joke’s on me. I thought I was doing her a kindness, condescending in my busy lunch hour to listen politely to an old lady. It didn’t occur to me that I was the one who needed that hug.

Let somebody hug you today 🙂