On Tuesday I was coming out of our small-town pharmacy. I had a cartload of items, most of which included diapers and wipes (please, don't go getting any ideas... those baby days are LONG since over!) to donate to my son's high school National Honor Society which is collecting items for a local women's shelter. As I was struggling through the slush with the cart (they still use paper bags ONLY there... I could have managed plastic bags without a cart.... this is not Mayberry, people.... get with the times!), a stranger, about my age, walked by and said, "Merry Christmas." PANIC! PANIC! Who are you? Do I know you? Why are you talking to me? Why is it so important to you that I have a merry Christmas? Am I on Candid Camera? She totally threw me off! I even went so far as to look around me, full circle, assuring myself that she must be sending that wish to someone she knew. Seriously, I was all out of sorts for about 60 seconds! How sad is that???? I was thinking that's the kind of world we live in, where we are suspicious of random kindness, but I don't think that's probably the case.... I think it's the world I live in!!!!
I think I see things kind of like a smart fish would (is there such a thing as a smart fish???)... "That worm sure would be nice to have, but it's out of place dangling here in the middle of the lake, so I better proceed with caution!" That's me.... the holiday wish was nice, but it stuck out like a sore thumb to me. I need to work on relaxing, huh??
What's even weirder, is that you know she said it and just went on with her day. Here I am, 24 hours-plus later, not only thinking about it, but BLOGGING about it! What the heck is wrong with me? I guess I'll just have to show her... I WILL have a merry Christmas (unless one of my presents involves something I have to housebreak!!), just to be a good citizen and be worthy of her good wishes.
Don't forget to stop by my blog tomorrow for a great heartwarming Christmas story (yeah, right) of sugar cookies and thievery! Ahhh.... I'm such a tease! :)
Cindy
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1 comment:
Cindy, I think it's the world YOU live in. LOL. I Lived in IL for about a year and didn't meet my next door neighbor until the day we packed to leave! I know a lot of it was my fault too because I didn't go over and introduce myself but I had been told by people that lived there that the town was "clickish." I had never heard that word before and really didn't know what it meant but soon found out that the townspeople already had a group of friends and weren't very welcoming to strangers - and I was a stranger! For 10 months my only friend was my husband and although I adore him very much, he doesn't make for a real good girlfriend. LOL.
If you ever come South, you'll find out that people will greet for no reason at all. I guess that's why they call it southern hospitality. LOL.
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