Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012

As I scurry around, preparing for the holiday, I find myself pondering over what I’m grateful for.  Earlier this afternoon, I was in the produce section of the grocery store where another woman was wrestling with a belligerent head of Romaine lettuce that just didn’t want to be stuffed in a clear bag.  Laughing, I commented on how it was being difficult.  Smiling a wicked grin in return, the woman went into an oral commentary of how, if the lettuce wanted a fight, then a fight it would get…but…ultimately, she was going to win.  That got us both laughing. 

Another woman whooshed past us, commenting how she was grateful to not be hosting the holiday this year.  I looked at the lettuce-battling woman.  She smiled and commented, “Then go away, we don’t like you any more.” 

The woman laughed and said, “So nice to be stress free.”

I looked around me, at the hoards of holiday shoppers.  I recalled how there wasn’t an available shopping cart in sight when I entered the store, all in use by hectic customers.  That’s when I asked the woman, “Then why are you here?  And now—the day before Thanksgiving—for heavens sake?”

The woman didn’t reply.  Least not in words.  Instead, she smiled a content smile and headed to the registers, only a couple of items in her hands.

So why do I bring this up.  Simple, because it reminded me of something I’m most grateful for—laughter—the ability to laugh, even when I want to cry and also at those moments when my heart is so overjoyed that I can hardly contain my enthusiasm.