One of The Best Mornings in January...

   I created a new blog about two months ago entitled "Slipping Down the Drain". Perhaps it was not a good idea to create a blog when depressed and stressed to the max. I hoped writing would help me get out of the slump I was in. I was wrong. I soon found out I could not write. I had a title and that was all I had. Along with Elvis, my muse had left the premises.

  For the most part all I wanted to do was sleep, read, and sleep some more. I was worried sick about my husband's health. We had faced heart attacks, broken bones,a near death experience and many other things in our 45 years together. However, things got better--faster. This time we were locked in limbo. Tommy still faces unrelenting pain most days. The physical therapists says he is improving and he is. It just seems like it is taking forever. Patience is not a virtue of mine.

  I no longer wanted to write about our lives. There wasn't much humor in our lives to share. I wanted to write about the changes going on in our world--both good and bad effecting our daily lives. Maybe because it is an election year, maybe because for the first time we have an anti American President, maybe the threat of ISIS looms closer all the time or it could be the fact that we no longer stand solid with Israel. Whatever the reason, I felt like our country was literally "slipping down the drain". That is how this blog began. One scared woman who is mad as Hell at her government for throwing the best of our country down the drain...and for smiling while it spins.

  We live in strange times. Things occur daily now that at one time were creative, scary themes of Science Fiction movies. As a child, I watched these movies on Saturday afternoons at the local theater; usually with one hand over my right eye while peeping through my fingers as the world was destroyed. It cost a quarter to go to the movies. I think popcorn was a dime and sodas were 15 cents. It was money well spent. I was scared spitless for several hours, however as soon as I left the theater I was safe.

  Fact and fiction are now partners in an uncertain future. Feeling safe is a muddied emotion that seldom offers a lasting comfort. There is never a day when terrorism does not enter my mind or strike somewhere in the world. Never is there a day when I do not have extremely unkind thoughts about the leaders of our country.  At times it is hard to tell one side from the other. Lying has become all to easy for many people and leaders. Common sense no longer resides on Capital Hill.

 Then out of the blue, I had a wonderful morning. Something inside me said, 'Write about the common ordinary beauty in the little things life offers most people each day. Help them remember small joys'.

  I began to desire writing about small, unusual encounters happening with the people I meet in this lovely but unpredictable world we share with billions of strangers. The meetings result in a few moments of unexpected connection between two strangers. Our lives touch and then we go our separate ways. Good things still happen in our world. I needed to be reminded of this fact.  

 My first story is a feel good story. It is true and I think about it often. I wish I had done more the day it happened, however it did start me on a conscious 'pay it forward' attitude every chance I get. I try to look harder for the good in people and our world. Some days I do good other days I fail miserably and have to start all over.

 Tuesday morning started out like any other winter day. Tommy and I drank coffee while listening to the new winter weather advisory in effect for some week in January.  More snow was in the forecast, a possible five inches might fall, causing us to decide to make a quick trip to town and stock up on extra supplies before the anticipated snowfall arrived.

   The trip to town was beautiful. Deer were feeding in nearly every field, trying to fill hungry stomach's before the storm covered their eating area with multiple inches of snow.  Birds, at feeders, stuffed their little fat bellies until they seemed unable to fly. Nature was getting ready for the snow. We rounded a corner spying in a barren tree, a bald eagle searching for his prey. The eagle is Tommy's lucky totem. We knew it would be a good day from that point on and it was.

  Soon we were in town strolling into WalMart, 'our own personal sink hole'. We took our lists and split up to get the shopping done faster. Immediately, I became side tracked  by the life of a young mother and her three small children. She was out numbered and loosing ground fast. I remembered those days as if they were yesterday.

  I had never met the young mother however, my heart reached out to her the second I witnessed the familiar predicament she was in.  She was a small woman with dark hair and tired eyes. It was early in the morning and she wore last nights lack of sleep on her face like a type written letter. I remember those days and nights. I often wore that look.

 She had twin boys, with sandy blond hair, big blue eyes and a desire for chocolate, in the process of climbing into the cart. The mother stopped the climbing by placing one of the little boys in the shopping cart, while holding a newborn baby in her arms. I am still not sure how she did that. The other little boy stopped and looked through the bars on the cart trying to figure some way to climb in. His brother, in the cart, looked at him and yelled, "No!". He liked having the cart to himself. In the mother's arm a newborn baby slept. A cloth jumper of sorts lay beside her purse in the part of the cart where people often let small children sit.   Without thinking, I asked her if she needed some help. She smiled and said, "No, I think I can do this." The mama in me came to the forefront saying, "I don't see how you are gonna do this."  She started laughing and looked  around her at her son on the floor. "Alright... I can use some help and thank you." I told her no problem, I had three daughters and I remembered trying to shop with them. My daughter's were spaced out. I never had three babies under the age of three.  She was my new hero.

  I asked her little boy if I could place him in the cart with his brother. I had no back up plan if he said, "NO!!" Thankfully, he nodded 'yes' and I placed him in the cart before he changed his mind. I looked at the mom and she smiled. So far no one was crying.

 I looked at the cloth contraption in the buggy seat and said, "I have on idea what to do with this".  She laughed and handed me her baby daughter. It was instant love at first sight. It has been a long time since I held a newborn baby. She was precious. She made me anxious for my new granddaughter to be born.
I marveled at how small and perfect a baby is. She got comfortable in my arms and that was fine with me. I glanced at her mother. She was in the process of putting the cloth contraption together so she could place her daughter in it. It looked like a sling and when I handed her the baby she slipped her daughter into the sling without waking her up. I have to admit I was impressed. I still can't figure out how she put the sling together safely, but she did.

   I told her I would be happy to help her shop however she insisted everything was going to be fine. She smiled and walked off. I shook my head with admiration and doubt. I was wondering where she was going to put the groceries. What if all the kids started crying at once? What if the baby got hungry or pooped? 

   I stood and watched them walk off--silently wishing her well. Finally, I turned around to go find Tommy. I was excited to tell him about my adventure into modern day motherhood. He was all ears and smiles. We eventually met the mother in the store. The kids were fine. The baby was still asleep. One little boy was sitting on a bag of diapers. The other little boy was trying to climb out of the cart. The mom very calmly put a can of Folgers coffee into the cart and asked him to "Hold the coffee down so it wouldn't spill". Brilliant!!! He was delighted to have a mission. After that, I quit worrying about her. She had it covered and had a plan. I marveled at her as they continued to shop. I was tempted to give her my phone number and tell her anytime she needed help shopping I would be glad to help. Tommy told me that wasn't a good idea. I disagreed as usual, but didn't share my number.

  I enjoyed my morning. It was a trip to the future and a trip down memory lane at the same time.  Both trips were nice...different but nice. It was a nice positive way to start my blog. In my corner of the world, for a few minutes, life was normal, peaceful and good.

  If I am not mistaken, when I listened to the news this morning, the Pope was pissed at Donald Trump. A man killed 6 random people for no known reason. Two of the people were a father and son looking at used cars. I bet they were looking to buy the son's first car. A sink hole swallowed a portion of a home and I burned the banana bread while writing this last post.   Hmmmmm life continues at warp speed, once again Science Fiction is on the rise and rapidly running true to form. Life does indeed imitate fiction.