Things to Make Me Smile....

After a stressful week of a very sick doggie, and various other struggles too numerous to mention, I'm beat....with Richie obsessed with working every possible minute he can, and me being left alone to deal with everything, I decided for some excitement I'd head out to Walmart.....for the sole purpose of buying toilet paper for $1.26, about all I had in my pocketbook. Being in the pit of the valley as I felt, I parked and started dragging my feeling sorry for myself body down the parking lot.... in front of me I noticed an older man and I guess I gave him notice because he was dressed just as my father used to and it made me smile. He was walking with a young man (I assume was his grandson) who was probably about an 11th grader as he was the one who had driven the car to the spot next to me. He had on a Lake Park Audubon Raiders letterman's jacket and baseball cap and seemed excited to be going to "Walmart". Again I smiled thinking, wow guess this trip excites some people who'd drive all the way from LPA. What happened next though made me laugh outloud....the Grandpa stopped right in the middle of the busy road right in front of the store, turned around with this concerned look on his face and looked up in the air saying "well what the hell is the name of the lane we parked in, I don't see any signs so we know where our car is when we get done in there!" I don't know why I needed that laugh in my day, but I did... I mean it was just the Moorhead Walmart parking lot for crying out loud.... and he was concerned he couldn't find his car in the 20 minutes he'd probably last inside? From that point on my mood lightened enough that I decided I needed to make a stop at the Moorhead Dairy Queen... not something I ever usually do, but I've heard all week from both my daughter and my boss that they've been there for treats since it was officially open last Sunday and it's a Moorhead tradition that everyone go there on the 1st of March! I got my kiddie krunch cone and headed back to the car noticing something else that made me smile in my doldrums... this guy comes walking towards me from way across the parking with the hugest smile I've seen lasting his entire walk....I hop in the car and continue to watch him walk up to the building and touch the signs on the side and almost bow down on his knees to the place... I've never seen anyone so happy to be standing outside in line in 28 degree weather to get an ice cream and I guess his joy just brought a smile to my face. All in all, an afternoon experience in remembering it is the little things in life that bring joy and a simple trip to the Walmarts and the Dairy Queens of this world can help you realize that.