Day 257 -- Sandy
I took AJ into town today for some last minute school supply shopping. I went to Meijer because I really wanted to get a little goldfish for my classroom. So, we dinked around getting Breslin and Dharia some of the essentials they needed for preschool and then headed over to the pet section to get a fish. We stood and waited. And waited. We asked an associate for help, who called someone else to help. And we waited. We picked up a red phone to ask for some help. And waited. You get the idea. AJ was an angel, though, happily playing with whatever I put in her path to distract her. Finally, we got our 19 cent goldfish (whose name is Hydrogen Avogadro, by the way) and were on our way.
Having completed this errand that had already taken about three times longer than I had anticipated it would, I thought that I would stop and get a stamp to mail a letter that I had been wanting to get into the mail for a couple of days. I figured this was as good an opportunity as any. We headed over to the customer service desk where we were third in line. And we waited. We waited while one of the associates went on break. We waited while a lady bought a gajillion lottery tickets. And we waited some more. AJ was good, though I was starting to get pretty cranky at this point.
I got the one stamp (ONE STAMP! I stood in line for 20 minutes for ONE STAMP!) on the envelope and sent it out. Then, as I power-walked out of Meijer, I saw Sandy. You know, the horse you can ride for only one penny? AJ had been such a good girl, that I fished out a penny and let her go for a ride. Not that she was only one penny worth of good, it's just that I would have given almost anything to get out of the store at that point.
It was funny, because as much as Sandy brought a smile to AJ's sweet little tired face, it lifted the crankiness right out of me, too. She looked like a happy drunk up there. Her eyes were rolling up into the back of her head from the combination of her being exhausted and the mechanical rocking of the horse, but she had a huge goofy grin on her face. When the time ran out, she laid down and hugged the horse. A stranger who had been watching her inserted another penny for her to go again.
When we left Meijer, I felt like it had been the best trip in the world.
AJ fell asleep before we made it out of the parking lot.
Thank God for Sandy!
Lord, thank you for our little adventure today. Thank you for showing me how ridiculous my attitude was, and for blessing me anyway. Thank you for my little girl and for the way she made our trip so much better than it ever would have been without her. Thank you for giving her the chance to have a little fun on Sandy and help her to rest up from her exciting day. In your name I pray, Amen.
Having completed this errand that had already taken about three times longer than I had anticipated it would, I thought that I would stop and get a stamp to mail a letter that I had been wanting to get into the mail for a couple of days. I figured this was as good an opportunity as any. We headed over to the customer service desk where we were third in line. And we waited. We waited while one of the associates went on break. We waited while a lady bought a gajillion lottery tickets. And we waited some more. AJ was good, though I was starting to get pretty cranky at this point.
I got the one stamp (ONE STAMP! I stood in line for 20 minutes for ONE STAMP!) on the envelope and sent it out. Then, as I power-walked out of Meijer, I saw Sandy. You know, the horse you can ride for only one penny? AJ had been such a good girl, that I fished out a penny and let her go for a ride. Not that she was only one penny worth of good, it's just that I would have given almost anything to get out of the store at that point.
It was funny, because as much as Sandy brought a smile to AJ's sweet little tired face, it lifted the crankiness right out of me, too. She looked like a happy drunk up there. Her eyes were rolling up into the back of her head from the combination of her being exhausted and the mechanical rocking of the horse, but she had a huge goofy grin on her face. When the time ran out, she laid down and hugged the horse. A stranger who had been watching her inserted another penny for her to go again.
When we left Meijer, I felt like it had been the best trip in the world.
AJ fell asleep before we made it out of the parking lot.
Thank God for Sandy!
Lord, thank you for our little adventure today. Thank you for showing me how ridiculous my attitude was, and for blessing me anyway. Thank you for my little girl and for the way she made our trip so much better than it ever would have been without her. Thank you for giving her the chance to have a little fun on Sandy and help her to rest up from her exciting day. In your name I pray, Amen.
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