So, this was my day, full of small things, little moments, all of which had me smiling continually the entire time. Today is Sunday, which I usually spend at my church in the morning.
I hadn’t dressed in about a week, as my daughter was visiting, happily shutting it down for that reason. Today I wore my all-time favorite dress, went sleeveless now that I am happy with my arm tan and off I went! First stop was a Panera for my coffee. There I got a big smile and complement on my dress from the cashier. I made my coffee and headed out the door. A group of people were coming in at the same time, led by two elderly women with walkers, so I held the door. There I received smiles, thank yous and another complement on my dress. The gentleman at the end of the line got the door and said, “go ahead ma’am”. Now he certainly didn’t have to Ma’am me, but don’t think I didn’t notice and appreciate the kindness.
Church was, as usual, life affirming. Many complements on the dress. One of the women gave me a big “there she is!” (always appreciated). Another, simply the sweetest African-American woman, in her upper 60’s, always so stylish, gave me my usual hug and a “Kandi, you look so pretty today”. The smile continued to grow as I told her how much that truly meant to me and that I loved her for doing it. I sat with my lady friends, as always, where I am just one of them. Then I had to scoot right at the end of the service because I was the hostess (in place of our regular hostess who is on vacation) for our Second Sunday Lunch in a fabulous restaurant in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood. I talked with everyone (about 25 people), hugging many, shaking hands and just loving my role for the day. Here is the capper and something that brought tears. A young lady, probably about 12, who was with us, but sitting at the opposite end of the long table came up to me rather shyly and told me she loved my hair! She said she wanted to tell me that all morning. I melted into a pile on the floor practically and gave her a huge hug! Trust me, these are the moments I cherish and NEVER forget! I am so blessed…..
But wait, there’s more! On my way home, I stopped at a local college theatre where I have signed up to volunteer in order to introduce myself and set things up going forward. The doll who I initially spoke with and I were like sisters almost instantly, we walked all over the place arm-in-arm and shared big hugs and “girl” kisses when I left. Also while I was there, I struck up a conversation with one of the patrons, a fabulous 60ish woman there with her elderly mother and we also ended up with the whole hug and kiss thing when they went to sit down. I also got a bunch of complements on the dress. So now I am a full-fledged volunteer for the Mercury Theatre Company where I will have an absolute ball and guess what they are performing this summer? La Cage Aux Folles and Hairspray…..how cool is that! I told my new friend I wanted to meet the “girls” (and they are so cute!) next time and she promised that I could.
A wonderful day and now it’s time to pound the pavement, I am so high right now 10 miles will fly by like nothing.
The moral…….go out…..find your place in the world…..it’s all very doable, just do it! I fool no one and as a result, get so much love I almost feel guilty about it.
And that’s my story!!
