I don\u2019t normally get emotional at the Dollar Tree. I mean, the prices are great, but I usually don\u2019t get choked up about it.<\/p>\n
I was getting into my car, and parked beside me\u2014crooked\u2014was a white Civic.\u00a0A elderly\u00a0woman got out. She walked around the car slowly.<\/p>\n
She was carrying an oxygen tank with those damn tubes coming out of her nose\u2013the ones that tell everyone \u201cdoctors are keeping me alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was about 5\u20194\u2033,\u00a0white-haired, hunched over, clearly having trouble, but stubborn, independent, determined, and entirely alert.<\/p>\n
She reminded me of my mom, Ingrid.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you need some help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u2026.I\u2019m just wondering if I need to pull further in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNah, you\u2019re fine. A little crooked, but that\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think so?\u2026 Which way are you headed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNowhere in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you lend me your arm and walk me to the Dollar Tree?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom used to have an oxygen tank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. How does she do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe passed away a few years ago. She lived alone and I always wondered if people were helping her when they saw she needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI live alone, too. I get a lot of help. I go to mass\u00a0everyday.\u00a0People\u00a0help me and they have an elevator.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere do you go to mass?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. Stan\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026.What level are you set at?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty high. 3.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh\u00a0that\u2019s not so bad. My mom was like an 8, I think. Well\u2026here we are. \u00a0Do you want a shopping cart to hold on to while you\u2019re walking?\u201d![\"dscn2155\"](\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/DSCN2155-1024x766.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u2018Yes. They help a lot\u2026.Thank you. Have a good year.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wondered whose mother this was and whether she will see 2013.<\/p>\n
A brief moment\u2014talking to and holding the arm of a woman who reminded me so much of my mom.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the week between Christmas and my birthday. Maybe I\u2019m subconsciously more alert to such things. I\u2019ll bet that had something to do with it.<\/p>\n
I might not have noticed her next week\u2014which would have been a shame.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n