Hey you guys! I didn't have a chance to blog while I was in Colorado. I was staying with my cousin and he doesn't have Internet. My sister informed me that there were Internet cafes and that I should find one but we were too busy doing fun stuff to even worry about that. Sorry! I must say though I had the best time. I love my Colorado family! They are lots of fun. My daughter caught 2 fish and rode a 4 wheeler by herself! So many fun things and awesome memories. I got lots of topics for blogs too. This is the first......
My daughter and I hit the road on Monday morning at about 7am after dropping the boys off at respite. We went up to Hays and caught I-70. There were lots of little towns along the way. I had gotten a cappuccino and mountain dew (lethal combination) to try to stay awake. The night before I didn't get to bed until after midnight because I was packing and trying to clean house. Then, my daughter crawled in bed with me at 2am because she couldn't sleep and my youngest son woke up at 3am and was ready to start the day. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep! The consequence of that beverage combination was that I had to stop a lot to go to the bathroom. My daughter counted and by the time we hit Denver to go to the museum I had made 6 potty stops. How rude! I never counted how many times she peed her pants when I was potty training her! How soon they forget!
One of the places we stopped was a tiny little town right off the highway. I can't even remember the name of it. There was no gas station there. One paved road. It was almost exactly like the town I grew up in except it had a grocery store. (Alden doesn't even have that but it does have a cafe and a quilt shop.) I pulled up to the little grocery store. My daughter did not want to go in. We were at a really good part in our "Adventures in Odyssey" CD. I made her come anyway. So she put on her shoes and we went in.
There was a little group of about 5 people chatting at the only register. The whole grocery store was about the size of my duplex. The lady at the register asked,"Can I help you?" I said, "Do you have a bathroom we can use? I see that you don't have a gas station otherwise I wouldn't bother you." She laughed, "No, we don't have a gas station. We don't have a public restroom but if you don't mind you can use our employee bathroom in the back." I said that was great and she led the way. We chatted on the way back there and I told her about my growing up in a small town where everyone was related to me. We got to the bathroom and she showed me how to turn on the light and rig up the door so it would shut. It was a small and not very fancy bathroom but it was clean and neat and well-taken care of.
My daughter, fancy being her middle name, wrinkled her nose up. "Mom, this bathroom is gross!" I frowned at her, "It is not gross. It's very clean." She sighed, "That's not what I mean. Look at this place!" I was starting to get a little peeved here. Maybe I needed to remind her where we come from. I said to her, "Honey, it is a very unfair thing to judge a place and people in it just because they don't have fancy bathrooms or even a gas station. These are very nice people and this is a very nice town. That lady out there did not have to let me use this bathroom. But she did it because she was kind. Don't you remember the first house we had when your Dad and I divorced? Of course you wouldn't, you were just a baby. It wasn't even a house, it was a small and shabby trailer out in the middle of nowhere. When the wind blew the trailer shook and I would bring you into bed with me and cuddle and tell you stories. The air conditioner didn't work and the electricity always went out when it rained. But there was so much love in that little trailer. You learned to walk pushing a laundry basket down the uneven hallway. When it was nice I put a tarp in the front yard and turned on the water hose and we slid down that tarp until we were too tired to move anymore. At night you would play in the bathtub until the water went cold. The bathroom was just like this one except for your rubber duckies in it. Our bathroom didn't even have a door."
She stood there for a minute while I was washing my hands. "I think I do remember that. We were happy there, weren't we?" I smiled at her, "We were very happy there. It was my first taste of freedom and you were learning that it isn't normal for Mommy's and Daddy's to fight all the time. I have some of my best memories there." We left the bathroom.
When we got back to the front of the store I thanked the lady for bending the rules for us. She asked where we were going and we visited for a minute. Then, she turned to my daughter and said, "My, that is a pretty pink dress you have on! And look at those fun sneakers!". My daughter smiled and said, "Thank you. I like to dress fancy. I like your store. It's really nice. And I like the bathroom too. It smelled really good!" The lady looked very pleased. She walked us to the front door and my daughter gave her a hug. She told us to come back anytime.
We got back in the car and got situated. As we drove off she said, "Mama, you are right. If I thought that lady was just like her bathroom that wouldn't be fair. She was really nice!" I replied, "You are right honey. Meeting new people is really fun! You get to learn and experience new things. You just have to keep your heart and mind open. After all, you love Jesus don't you?" She looked shocked, "Of course I do!" "Well then, you know not to judge a book by it's cover. He was the son of God. Look at all the amazing things he did in his time on earth! Do you remember where he was born?" Now she understood. "He was born in a stable. That's like a barn right?" "Right, with the animals still in it. His parents didn't have anything fancy. But they had love and faith. That's what life is all about." We turned back on the CD and headed back to the highway.
This is something I need to keep locked in my heart too. You never know what someone had going on just under the surface. The seemingly happiest person could need a friendly smile and conversation. The grumpiest person you know may have a heart of gold. If I don't take the time to talk to people and get to know them, then I may miss out on the most wonderful opportunity. I had a friend who thought it was hysterical to go places with me. I can talk to anyone about anything. In fact, I have made several friends that way! She would stand in amazement watching me compliment someone on their shoes, and then start a 30 minute conversation about nothing. Not everyone can do that and that's okay. But when you find yourself stereotyping someone by their looks you might stop yourself and think about that. God created and loves us unconditionally, warts and all. Isn't that amazing!
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