Decision: I would finish getting what I was going to get and then we would call all our family and friends and tell them that we were in fact psycho pushing the party to Sunday. Some couldn't make it, others who couldn't come on Saturday as originally planned now could come. All in all it was a good time had by all... but that is not the moral of this story.
After I hung up the phone (feeling rather depressed) I trudged into the store to make my reluctant and bitter purchases. I picked up some bananas and grapes (because we always seem to run out of these). Then headed around to the Gluten Free section of the store. Wegmans (in my opinion) has one of the most diverse and best-priced Gluten Free sections of any supermarket around. I needed everything from Peanut Butter Panda Puffs to Gorilla Munch; Glutino pretzels to Bob's Red Mill Pancake Mix. I was loading up my cart with some of the boys' favorite GF items when this women joined me in the aisle. She looked rather damp (remember it had been raining since April) and her body language spoke volumes. She was talking (quite loudly) to herself and kept sneaking glances into my cart. (Now I should mention here that I am the person in the store that will answer your questions even if you are not asking them to me. I hate nothing more than to see a fellow consumer struggle to find an "associate" who should know the answer and yet never seems to know anything. So if you happen to be asking questions either out loud to yourself or to another person in your party, and no one gives you an answer you better believe I will speak up!) I did the socially appropriate thing at this point: smiled and made eye contact. This says, "I am friendly and open to have a conversation with you, if, in fact, that is what you desire."
She desired.
Not only did she desire but she necessitated. She said she noticed that I was putting a lot of GF items into my cart and thought that I might be able to help her find some things and to make some suggestions. We began talking. I told her why we chose the GFCF diet for the boys. She shared her new found Celiac diagnosis. We talked shop and it was great! I told her about the gluten free tours that Whole Foods has... and then I mentioned Trader Joe's. Before I could finish saying the name she told me that she had been making the 45-60 minute drive to TJs in southern Jersey. When she finally stopped talking I told her that there was a TJs opening in 2 weeks less than a mile from where we stood. (I kid you not) She started jumping up and down in the middle of the aisle. She began shrieking and laughing! She had tears in her eyes! Once she regained her composure she looked me in the eyes and said, "I debated whether or not to come out tonight. I really wanted brownies but didn't really feel like trudging out into the rain. Now I know why I came. I had to come so that you could share that with me!"
I showed her where the gluten free freezer section was (for Vans waffles and Bell and Evans chicken tenders) and then we said our good byes. I stood there for a few minutes reflecting on what God had just done... you see, what I didn't tell you was that the 10 minute conversation with Dave in the parking lot was more like a 2 minute conversation followed by a 5 minute yelling match followed by an intentional hangup followed by another 3 minute yelling match followed by a truce and apology. Had it not rained, had we not had to reschedule, had I not been so depressed... I would have been in and out of that aisle of the market long before she got there (Dave added bananas and grapes to my list while I was on the phone with him) and I never would have gotten the chance to, even if for a moment, bless her. I know it might sound funny but that is exactly how I see it. It was a blessing. Not only for her but for me too. It was only after that happy moment (you really would have thought she had won the Publishers' Clearinghouse Sweepstakes) that I realized that my life has been so blessed and has been such a blessing. Each little connection that I make has given me knowledge and perspective and I, in return, have given as well. So whether we had the party at home or at the park. whether Dave's sister and her family could come or not, whether the grass was cut or overgrown didn't really matter. What matters is how we use what we have been blessed with to bless others.
