
A funny thing happened on the way to the service deli...I went through the service deli to grab a fork and knife for Jeff's pizza at Costco, we had dinner after a shopping trip, okay Jeff had dinner there. Anyway I was standing in line to get a knife and a fork for Jeff as I said and behind me stood a woman talking on her cell phone to someone and it went something like this "...and they said I could look around but I couldn't buy anything, so I'm sorry...okay I'll see you later." She seemed distressed so I told her I couldn't help but overhear as she was sort of loud and was there something specific she was seeking to purchase. She replied that she was there to get diapers for her 15 month old Grandson. I told her I was a member and would take her back and wait through the line with her so she could get them and be on her merry way. We were together walking a fair bit as neither she nor I knew where the diapers were located. We talked about grandchildren and how nice they were etc. The she says "This is my third, and so special, and what's really nice..." We were interrupted by our search, so once back on the path I asked her to finish her previous statement. She replied that it was really nice that she was able to be there to see her grandson born as she had a liver transplant shortly before his birth. As I carried the box of diapers from the back of the store to the check out counter I listened to her story. She went on to explain that she had an extra chromosome or something that deteriorated the liver etc. etc. etc. Then she tells me about the year she was on the transplant list, though not at the top and how she was fortunate that the recipient ahead of her rejected the liver and they needed someone close and she fit the bill. Then, she was told, she really should have been at the top of the list as she would not have survived even a month longer. She then told me a bit about her grandson and showed me his photo. I exclaimed that grandchildren were a blessing, and someone's "bad luck" was a blessing to her allowing her time to get to know her grandson. THEN she tells me that she was just on her way home from taking her HUSBAND to chemo-therapy. He'd been diagnosed with cancer some 5/6 years earlier and in full remission, but he had just recently been diagnosed with metastatic cancer. I told her that I hoped he would again go in to remission. She told me that she did as well and said to me, "You are such a blessing!" Me!?! With all the hardship she has endured in the recent past and present she was able to find the good in others. I was humbled by her gratitude and positive spirit. It was very nice to be called a blessing by a complete stranger. I know not her name but wish her and her family well, she knows not mine and thinks of me as a blessing. My new Years resolution thus far has proved beneficial for me while trying to be kind to others. No surprise there, yet still a mystery when it is unexpected.
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