The kindness of strangers

In July while my grandson was here we had to go to the store. I was hoping to just take the bike because it was one of the really hot days but he wanted to go so we walked. It's only about 10 mins away at a good walk, but when it is really hot you walk slower so figure 20 mins there and longer coming back with the groceries, the bag I had on my shoulder was 25 lbs, plus I had a gal of milk and he had a small lighter bag.

We were a little more than halfway home when I heard a car pulling out of a driveway so I told him to stop..sure enough the car backed up and didn't look in our direction until she was getting ready to back into the road.

The woman rolled down her window and was so apologetic,"oh my goodness I am SO glad that you were paying attention! I ALWAYS look both ways but it's always clear.." a nice older woman. THEN she says.."my goodness, you have a lot of bags..where do you live?" I tell her and she says.."Please let me give you a ride home. It is much too hot to be walking carrying all that!" oh no, that's ok, thanks anyways but we're fine. "PLEASE I insist! Let me do this." Well....ok.

She brings us home and we're chatting a little, she asks about kids I tell her about Josh and Tony, she asks about my car, I tell her I walk or use my bike. "What do you do in bad weather?" I wal, sometimes I will ask somebody for a ride or take a cab if I really have too.. So she insists on giving me her phone number and tells me to make sure I call her to go shopping or Drs or anyplace. That she is retired and loves to help people..etc. I take the number but think I am not going to call..it would be just too strange to call someone I don't even know for rides, you know?

ANYHOW, last week I was on the bike heading to the same market and she was in her yard with her husband doing yard work. Actually I wasn't sure it was her but she saw me as I rode by and yelled "Cathy! Come back I need to talk to you!" What could I do...I turned around and went back.

Right away she says "I was just telling my husband that I was going to go check on my new friend because I haven't seen you and you haven't called me. Is everything ok? Oh your son has been sick? How do you get to the Drs? What do you mean you called a cab? Where are you going now? Who is watching the boys? Why didn't you call me to take you?"

I answer all her questions and then tell her that I had told my daughter about her and that she was very nice but that honestly I would just feel weird calling her for a ride. "Well" she says "we will have to fix this! I will have to make it a habit to pop in when I am going someplace and see if you need to go too. Or you can give me your number and I can call you. In fact, if we talk more often then we will be friends and you won't have to feel weird about it!" Meanwhile her husband is chuckling and says "She loves to help folks. You would be making her happy if you call her" I stayed a bit longer chatting with them both about the yard work they were doing and then went to the store, waving at them on my return trip by the house.

So today, when I got up and had to go shopping, I knew there would be too much for the bike and also for the trolley. There is also an hour wait for cabs on the first because everyone is out doing their shopping. My friend across the street  picked me up last month when I went, but I really do hate to bother people. So I thought..well I can call "M", she really wants me too and she is so nice. It would be kind of nice to have another friend. She is older than me, but I always get along very well with older people. So I did. She wanted to bring me too, but I told her I get a ride down with whoever picks Josh up and usually take a cab home but the wait is so long that I can never get frozen items and needed to restock them so...She picked me up, insisted on helping load the groceries into the car, despite me asking her not to. I had to shoo her away when she was reaching for the really heavy tote bags filled with food!!

As she got ready to leave she told me that she expected to hear from me on the first of every month from now on and that if she didn't she would come over and give me what for...lol I said, ok..and I can give you gas money  (I mean she is saving me $7-8 bucks for the cab after all) "Oh poo you will give me nothing! I love to help, I am a caring person and this is what I do and I can tell that you are the same way!"

I totally plan on making a new friend here and adding another name to my Christmas baking list :-). It just goes to show you that friends can be found anywhere and often under the strangest circumstances.