Wednesday, December 19, 2007

inspiring social abberation

I went shopping with a friend who is staying with us last night. It was snowing. The kind of snow that comes straight down, not falling but floating. So when we were done putting our groceries away I lifted my face to the sky to catch fat fluffy flakes in my mouth. Suddenly, I was hit in the chest with a snowball.

It wasn't the snowball that was odd, it was the culprit who threw it. About ten feet away, in the almost empty parking lot stood a woman laughing out loud. Not a menacing laugh, but a cheerful belly laugh. My friend burst out laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. What could I do but join in?

It was late and we had left Alex alone with six small children, so there wasn't time to chat in the parking lot, but as we drove away I wish there had been. It occurs to me that she is the kind of person who will keep you from taking your life to seriously. With her slightly greying hair, laugh lines, and fabulous aim, this random woman made me laugh more genuinely than I have in a good while.

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