Profound Encounters

Today, Zippy and I ran into a dollar store to pick up a couple of items. I hardly had on a drop of make up so I wanted to get in and QUICKLY get out! I didn't want to be friendly or take off my sunglasses. I was simply on a mission.

Of course, I got in line behind chatty Cathy that looked to be in her mid-sixties. She was oohing over Zippy. Then she said that she had always hoped that she would have a little girl. I told her that she had two older brothers as well. She went on to say that she never had the opportunity to have kids and all that she ever really wanted in life was a big family. She went on to say that she grew up in a children's home with several siblings but that they were busted up and sent to different places to live or adopted by different families. She said that her twin sister was raised apart from her in South Carolina. She said it all very quickly but I could see the hurt on face. Zippy had wondered away from me but was still within eye sight. That is when I told the woman that my kids are adopted. Her lip quivered and said that she really wished more than anything that she and her siblings could have been adopted together. She left in a hurry. I left in hurry as well.

As my day has gone on, I find myself thinking back to that woman. She was raised in a group home without a mother. Then she never had the opportunity to be a mother herself. I imagine that makes Mother's Day very lonely. My heart breaks for that little girl within her.

Isn't it amazing how profound a brief encounter with a stranger can be?