Dearest Stranger

Dear Lady at Whole Foods Whom I've Never Met,

I don't even know where to begin. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. One day, I hope to be like you. I hope to walk through the grocery store and find the weary mom and help her. What you did today was probably just a small gesture on your part, but to me, it meant the world. To me, you were a hero. You had no idea what my day had been like up until that point, but I can assure you, it was not good. In fact, it was one of the worst days we've had in a long, long time.

You see, Stranger in the Grocery Store, my son has special needs. And sometimes those needs mean we avoid the public, but today, because of those needs, the public could not be avoided. We had to have things for him to eat, and they had to be purchased at Whole Foods. And my husband is in Ecuador right now, so I had to bring all three kids to run that errand.

So when my youngest was kicking and screaming on the floor because it was a half day and our schedule was out of whack, and because his pants didn't feel right on his legs, and because I had attempted to get him to stop picking his nose - and while my other two were halfway down the aisle yelling to me that they couldn't find the almond milk he needed and everyone else was walking by and staring at me, I wanted to die. And yes Ma'am, I know that sentence was probably a run-on sentence. At least in my deteriorated state of mind I think it was. I don't correct grammar on my blog. I apologize. 

But then you came along. And you looked at me kindly and without one iota of judgement in your eyes. And you helped me up. And you sent your teenage daughter down the aisles to grab the last of the things I needed while we waited in line. And as I stood there, I was scared to look at you for fear of crying. But when I did glance up to thank you yet again, you just smiled at me. And your smile and your eyes said "I've been there. You can do this." And then when Owen finally calmed down and was laying on my shoulder merely sobbing instead of screaming his head off and you reached up and rubbed his back and told me you thought he looked really sweet, well I didn't even know what to say.

Stranger, I cannot tell you what that meant to me. I told my sister I thought you were an angel. Because he is sweet. Even when he's not sweet because the world doesn't feel right to him; on the inside, he is still sweet. And somehow you saw that. I was so weary when I left that store. Bone tired after the day we had. But my heart was lit up because I was in awe of your kindness. So thank you. If we one day meet again, I would like to buy you a cup of coffee and tell you what a breath of fresh air you were for those few chaotic minutes in my life. And also, I would like to hire you for all future grocery store outings.

Sincerely,

One Very Grateful Bone Tired Mom