Last week was a lousy one. By Saturday I really, really needed a win.
Despite wanting to sleep the entire weekend away, midday Saturday found my husband and I in the local mall having some Chik-fil-A for lunch and running some errands. The lousy thing about being an adult (besides having to pay taxes) is that you don't get to put life on pause when lousy things happen. The house still needs groceries, you still have to show up at work, and things still need to get cleaned. So there I was, waiting for food at Chik-fil-A and feeling awfully rundown.
Out of nowhere there was a tap on my arm. Standing next to me was an older woman, walker and all, and her husband, wearing a WWII veteran hat. Before I could say anything the woman smiled up at me (and let's face it, I'm not that tall) and said "I just wanted to tell you that you have fantastic legs, really beautiful." Message delivered, they wandered slowly off, clearly watching people shop more than shopping themselves. I called out a wobbly, stunned "thank you" after them. And immediately started wondering if the whole 30 second interaction had just happened.
I pinched myself. They were still there, in my line of sight, smiling serenely and chatting. For the first time in a few days, I smiled.
That woman didn't know me from a hole in the wall. I'll never be able to tell her how much I needed a win in that moment. I'll never be able to thank her husband for his service. (I wanted to and was just a few steps too far on the side of shocked as hell to put it into words.) Somewhere out there though there is a fantastic person who did a small, unexpected thing, and gave me the win I needed.
So go ahead, do the unexpected. Go out of your way. Lift someone up. Because maybe they need a win too.
