Monday, January 04, 2010

The Guy in the Orange Sweatshirt

Last week, Mom and I drove the 14+ hours from Ohio back to Minnesota. Can I just say, there is nothing more frustrating than layers of STUFF on the floor of a vehicle.

"MOM!!! Where's my socks?"

Well, they're gone now in the black hole of the Suburban floor, baby. Just let me carry you into McDonald's and never leave your seat.

Nah, it didn't get that bad.

We stopped at one of those groovy Oasis' in Illinois. If you're not from the Midwest or have never driven through Chicago -- it's this huge structure built right over the interstate with gas stations, food, bathrooms, etc. Wonderfully accessible for those wanting to get right back on the highway. (I'm sure a man invented it.)

Anyway, we stopped for lunch and the kids were enjoying themselves, begging for money to play stupid games that give junk. Hope especially loved chasing her brothers and walking around like a big girl.

A man near us sat alone, on his cell phone for the most part. As he was getting up to leave, he walked over to me and smiled. He pointed to Hope. (I though, Great, he's gonna give me some sort of parenting pointers or something and I'm REALLY not in the mood...)

He said, "My girls are both in their 20s now. But watching your little girl today, that pink barrette in her hair...well, it just brought back some great memories. You enjoy her. Every minute."

So at this point, I'm just nodding and smiling, trying not to cry because I've been up since 5am and I'm a little frazzled. But I was able to eek out:

Thank you, sir. I will.

2 comments:

Beth Wilmot said...

Beautiful. That will be us someday, right? Missing our babies. Okay, now I'm getting teary!

Unknown said...

gulp.
hugs.