God's laughing....

So you know how I wrote that post yesterday about blogging being light?  Well, yesterday's adventures merited not one but two blog posts.  Everyone knows the rule about making God laugh.  All you have to do is profess your plans.

The First Stations of the Cross

Part of being a stay at home mom is supposed to be those moments you get to see your kids doing things and they see you seeing them. I felt very excited I'd be able to go to the stations of the cross and see three of my children acting in them.

At one o'clock, I loaded my five year old and drove toward the school. I stopped at the gas station and there, I saw her. She looked older than I knew her to be. This woman holding a walker stood at the side of six lanes of traffic, fully intending to cross. I looked for an aide, a nurse, a daughter, someone who would escort her. There was no one.

Standing, waiting in an ill fitting pair of old jeans, so ill fitting, they did not cover all of her hips, and a too small for her jacket, her middle was completely exposed. I couldn't stand it. We'd be late. Grabbing a shirt from my husband's dry cleaning stack, I walked to her. "Do you want a shirt?" I asked.

"No!" she said. Okay, that was inartful. I rationalized, she was one turn from being naked on the side of the street, and tried again. "Do you need any help?"

"Yes! I'm lost." Lost! Yes. That made sense. "Come back with me toward the car, I have a smart phone. I'll help you find where you want to go." She followed.

"What's your name?" I asked.
"Renee." She gave me a smile. She followed, occasionally hitching her pants.

I googled her spot. It was in fact, across the street but a block away. She'd never get past the traffic coming over the bridge.
"Let me give you a ride." I offered.
"You'll have to take my walker." Renee said.

I loaded the walker in the trunk and looked again at the long sleeved shirt she'd refused.

One block, but it took two tries to get to the spot. It was a building set back from the street and the entrance was in the cellar.

During the drive she told me she'd received a Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee in Clinical Psychology and I had to wonder, was I being tested to see either how gullible I was, or was she pulling my leg to show she had a sense of humor, or was there a reality to this story, which revealed a far greater tragedy. I opted to simply believe. "That's impressive." She added, she'd received a second degree when she made a lateral move to specialize. "What is this place I'm taking you to?"

"It's a cable store."
"You mean like Comcast or Direct TV?"
"No. They sell cables."
"There's a store that just sells wire?"

"Thanks for doing this for me." she added.
"Hey. It isn't every day I get to give a ride to a person with two doctorates." She gave me a smile. I'd gotten the joke. We understood each other.

We parked. I got out her walker and thought, I'd try again. "May I give you a shirt?"
"Oh. I would love that."
I slid the rose button down long sleeved shirt over her arms and across her shoulders. It hid everything.
"Thank you."

She started to take the stairs with the walker. I didn't know if she was less disabled than she seemed or just lacked judgement but I couldn't leave. "That looks really steep. I don't want you to break your neck." I took the walker, and she gripped both railings all the way down, "Bye Renee."

I raced back the two blocks it took to get to my daughter's school. They were taking the photos for the year book. I'd missed it all. My oldest daughter gave me a hug anyway when she saw me.

When I told her the story, she told me, "Well, you can go tonight."