A Beautiful Lady
Today, i did laundry, among other things, of course.
The washateria is a wonderful place. You never know who you'll meet there. Or whether they"ll want to talk to you.
The laundromat was pretty quiet, and while i waited for my clothes to go through their intended cycles, i messed around on my barely-used cell phone. Deleting this, setting alarms for egg turning, experimenting with different noises. You know . . . passing time.
While i was passing the time, a littleold lady oldest-lady-ever walked into the laundromat with her little basket of clothes in hand.
"HEL-lo," i said, sort of sing-songy.
The white-haired woman turned to me, stopped herself from saying something i didn't her and then responded, emphatically, "It's after noon. Good AfterNOON!"
"Good Afternoon," i smiled back. What a sweet lady. And possibly i should enunciate better with future conversation.
I went back to my cell phone, and she started her laundry. Soon, she came back from the washers to sit next to me by the wall. I expected conversation from this one and prepared to withdraw myself from my mindless button pushing, when i spied, by the corner of my eye, that she was pulling out HER cell phone.
Now you have to understand just how very old this woman appears to be. She's got at least 20 years on any of my beautiful, white-haired aunts, by all appearances. So the cell phone was FUNNY.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY! again." her slightly screechy, broken, very-old-lady voice, called into her very fashionable flip-phone.
Her conversation lasted all of 15 seconds, and i got up to change my clothes over. When i did, i noticed the faint odor of what i was to learn were 2 cats and one dog, and when i came back to the row of chairs where we were sitting, i found her, following every stereotype, as she took up her knitting with red, white, and blue threads.
Now that's more like it. Crafters will always tell you what they're crafting . . . even shy crafters, and this one did not strike me as shy. I had to strike up conversation.
I learned that this lovely lady, smiley and talkative with all of 5 teeth in her head, was knitting hats for cancer patients. Well, she excused herself, "i'm cheating on this one; these are for my grandchildren for their birthday." The titillating knitting conversation very quickly drew in another laundering crafter who had to see what she was up to.
I left soon after that, but i loved our visit. I love seeing the beauty in those who are aged; i love it when they don't care if they smell like dogs or if there are no teeth in their mouths; i love that the beauty of beautiful people shines through any facade. I love that real beauty really is on the inside. I love it when it's proven to me.
. . . let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
The washateria is a wonderful place. You never know who you'll meet there. Or whether they"ll want to talk to you.
The laundromat was pretty quiet, and while i waited for my clothes to go through their intended cycles, i messed around on my barely-used cell phone. Deleting this, setting alarms for egg turning, experimenting with different noises. You know . . . passing time.
While i was passing the time, a little
"HEL-lo," i said, sort of sing-songy.
The white-haired woman turned to me, stopped herself from saying something i didn't her and then responded, emphatically, "It's after noon. Good AfterNOON!"
"Good Afternoon," i smiled back. What a sweet lady. And possibly i should enunciate better with future conversation.
I went back to my cell phone, and she started her laundry. Soon, she came back from the washers to sit next to me by the wall. I expected conversation from this one and prepared to withdraw myself from my mindless button pushing, when i spied, by the corner of my eye, that she was pulling out HER cell phone.
Now you have to understand just how very old this woman appears to be. She's got at least 20 years on any of my beautiful, white-haired aunts, by all appearances. So the cell phone was FUNNY.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY! again." her slightly screechy, broken, very-old-lady voice, called into her very fashionable flip-phone.
Her conversation lasted all of 15 seconds, and i got up to change my clothes over. When i did, i noticed the faint odor of what i was to learn were 2 cats and one dog, and when i came back to the row of chairs where we were sitting, i found her, following every stereotype, as she took up her knitting with red, white, and blue threads.
Now that's more like it. Crafters will always tell you what they're crafting . . . even shy crafters, and this one did not strike me as shy. I had to strike up conversation.
I learned that this lovely lady, smiley and talkative with all of 5 teeth in her head, was knitting hats for cancer patients. Well, she excused herself, "i'm cheating on this one; these are for my grandchildren for their birthday." The titillating knitting conversation very quickly drew in another laundering crafter who had to see what she was up to.
I left soon after that, but i loved our visit. I love seeing the beauty in those who are aged; i love it when they don't care if they smell like dogs or if there are no teeth in their mouths; i love that the beauty of beautiful people shines through any facade. I love that real beauty really is on the inside. I love it when it's proven to me.
. . . let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
~ I Peter 3:4 ~
I love this post. Beautiful story, well told!
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