It’s easy to rush through life with our heads down, but sometimes the moments we almost walk past end up being the ones that matter most. This was one of those nights.
I went to a local store the other night with one simple goal: grab a t-shirt or two and somne stuff for the pool. Nothing exciting. Nothing worth writing home about. But I left the store with something far more valuable than anything hanging on that rack.
Here’s what happened.
Photo by Korney Violin on Unsplash
I noticed an older lady standing in front of the display I wanted to browse. She wasn’t moving, and I wasn’t sure if she worked there or was just shopping slowly. I circled back a little later, and sure enough, she was still there. I’ll be honest, I felt a flicker of annoyance. I was ready to just walk away.
Then she looked up at me and asked, in one of the most Southern accents I’ve encountered in our hometown, “Are you a Purdue fan?”
I laughed, told her no, and admitted I’ve been an IU fan my whole life. That simple question cracked the door open to one of the most unexpectedly rewarding conversations I’ve had in a long time.
She told me about her husband, who passed away a few years ago after over half a century of marriage. She talked about her four grandkids, and you could hear the pride in her voice with every sentence. She shared about her 30 years working for a local orthopedic company and how she now picks up hours at the store just to stay active. And she asked me questions too, about my life and my family.
Ten minutes. That’s all it was. But in that ten minutes, what started as a minor inconvenience turned into something deeply meaningful.
When I said goodbye, I looked at her and said (we’ll call her “Sally”), “Sally, it’s been an absolute delight talking with you. I hope the rest of your night is wonderful.”
I didn’t leave that store with an IU t-shirt. But I walked out with something much better: a reminder of the power of slowing down, being present, and actually engaging with the people around us.
It’s easy to keep our heads down and hurry past strangers, to see them as obstacles in the way of our to-do lists. But sometimes the moments we almost walk away from end up being the ones that matter most.
So here’s to “Sally.” And here’s to conversations we didn’t know we needed.
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