A Warm Moment on a Cold Day

Not too long ago my cousin in Hawaii posted a picture of herself on Facebook bundled up with a warm hat on her head and a scarf around her neck because she was cold. It was 60 degrees in her house. I did not laugh. How we feel cold is somewhat relative – what may be cold to one person is not that cold to another.

So I am not gonna say what the temperature was this morning when I left the aerobics class to go to the store for comestibles or how even colder it felt with the wind.

Bad weather over the weekend and the cold this morning prompted the school to cancel classes. There was a grandfather and two grandsons at the Y exercising, and I was not surprised when I saw another grandfather and his grandson in line behind me at the checkout.

I had 10 pounds of chicken, 5 pounds of vegetables, and some other items. The clerk asked me if I wanted help. I lift weights, so I could have carried the sacks, but I have a metal plate in my arm and it is uncomfortable sometimes.

 At first I said no, and she said are you sure, and I changed my mind and agreed that I needed help.

She called the store manager to help me, but he didn’t come and he didn’t come, and finally, Grandpa, who I expect was tired of waiting, said nodded at the boy and, “He will help you.” He didn’t argue with Grandpa, but smiled at me and picked up the heaviest of the bags and carried them out to the car. He was tall like his Grandpa, but puberty had not hit yet, so he had a soft, sweet “little boy” face, and his voice had not changed. He was sort of uncoordinated and awkward and was sort of galumphing along with my bags, smiling and not grumbling or complaining. He was precious.

It did my heart good to see a boy willing to be kind and helpful with a cheerful attitude. I wanted to go back and ask Grandpa if I could take him home, but I didn't.