Letting Life Happen...

This morning I had five quick stops I wanted to make. They were all quick-n-easy and in-n-out sort of stops; mail a package, stop at the bank, return an item... The goal was to get them done quickly and move on the things I really wanted to do today (make pumpkin bread with Lucy, paint Max's toy box, and write some thank yous).

Since I had Max and Lucy in tow, I knew these five stops would take longer with all of the unbuckling, unloading, and reloading, but I knew we could do it! First stop, mail a baby present (check! The kids were mesmerized by the Valley Junction Post Office and proceedings since we rarely go there and the little dum dum suckers were a big hit). Second stop; return a scrapbook. Roadblock. The store didn't open until 10. It was 9:15. Normally no big deal, but it was freezing outside and everything in the entire Valley Junction was closed except one place...the senior center.

Heading into there turned out to be one of the best detours I have ever taken. The place was filled seniors citizens conversing over coffee, playing pool and munching on donuts. They greeted us newcomers warmly and before I knew it, Lucy was chatting with the ladies on the couch and Max was involved in some sort of "roll the pool balls across the table" game with the men. Lucy was beaming as she regaled tales of her "mischiefy" little brother and asked the women about their families.

When it was time to go, I watched as Beverly zipped up Lucy's coat, press a quarter into her hand and told Lucy to come back. Lucy was quiet in the car and finally she reflected that she felt sad for some of the people there because their kids were all grown up and lived so far away. She was right and it had made me a little sad too. She asked if we could go back there again.

Yes, definitely. The wheels are in motion. Next time we will take in some books to read and games to play with them. I think that will be entertaining for the seniors, but also a life lesson for us.