insights: it's all in the perspective

Twenty minutes ago I was standing in the market wet and cold from dashing inside through hail the size of blueberries. As I was looking at organic turkey I got a text  from my sister-in-law, Sue, of a picture of her girls on vacation at their grandmother's house playing on the beach. "Lovely" I texted her back "It's 37 degrees here."

I was grouchy and wet to the bone. At the register the bagger asked paper or plastic and would I like some help out to the car?

An aside:

Here's something I discovered when we moved here from the east coast: In Connecticut at the market (Stop & Shop, Big Y, Whole Foods, it didn't matter) you bagged your own groceries and took them out to your car. Here in Seattle, no one bags their own groceries. You slide your payment card through and wait for the clerk to scan your items and then he bags them for you. If we waited for our groceries to be bagged in New England, you got the stink eye from  the cashier i.e. "What? You can't help bag your own groceries?!" And no one offered to take your cart to your car for you. It was assumed that if you can get yourself to the market then you are quite capable of wheeling your own cart to your car. I still find it odd when I have one bag or ten that the bagger asks "Miss, do you want help out with this?"

Which is just what he asked me this morning. I said "It's hailing out. Look" as I pointed to the white balls falling from the sky.

"Nooooooo. I love this. I'll go out with you. Let's go." He started wheeling my cart outside.

I asked him if he's a native. "Yes," this darling eighteen-year-old or so kid said "It's so great isn't it?!" (Imagine a surfer dude accent, but no tan or surfboard.)

We got out in the rain/hail and he was stoked. I burrowed my head down into my collar and looked over at him. He had raised his face to the sky.

"Man, this summer's gonna be so lush, so green, you know?" He was smiling as he loaded my groceries into the front passenger seat.

He nodded at the car (a Beetle convertible) "Oh, wow, you must love this car." I was thinking "Yes, when it's sunny out like 4 days a year when I can put the top down."

Then as he put his hand on the canvas convertible top "It's so cool that you can hear the rain on the top. It must sound AMAZING."

Perspective, hunh?

I'm still amazed at the people God/the universe pops into your life at exactly the right time.