I wasn't going to post anything more this year.

(at least not a separate blog post)

But then something happened.

I couldn't not say something.

It would have been ungrateful.






First, hugs.

Thank you for being so nice to a crazy woman like me.

Pup says "Hello!" and "Thank you!" too.

I meant what I said about being blessed.

For along time, I searched for "a place to be".


This Sunday and every Sunday, when I go to church there are people who notice if I'm there or not. They hug my neck and say "I love you."  and "Good to see you."  I say it back. I mean it too. How can we every be sad when we know that there are people who would miss us if we are gone. Every Sunday I can sit in this place. It's cool when it's hot and warm when it's cold.  The music is beautiful.  The message? It tells me that I'm never alone. That someone loves me.

Then? Then I get to eat lunch at the place in the middle of nowhere. That restaurant gave us a place to be when we didn't have a church or even what felt like a friend.  They gave us a tradition. Eating under the trees every Sunday.

I know that is true that someone cared.

I mean that.
.

They weren't the only ones. During this time I talked to all kinds of people. I talked to the mail ladies. We talked to the family that ran the hardware store. We talked to people at the Dollar General, the WalMart, the grocery store clerks, the folks at the library, all kinds of folks. Complete strangers.  They shared their day with me. They smiled at me and they said hello. Some of them remembered us when we came back. Even if they didn't, they still smiled back and said hello.  It's just the kind of people they are.

During the times when it looked like I was alone?
Always God was there in Heaven and the nice people were here on Earth.

Meeting you. I don't know why it happened but I was happy for the conversation and for the hugs.

Oh my. What hugs.

I'm sorry for the trouble and the unfairness that happened to you.

I hope that whatever happens in the future, that it will be good. I'm not sure that the sadness and unfairness is ever taken away. I can hope that future will be so good that it will make the past not so difficult to remember.

Thank you for the excellent memory.  I will replay it in my head and in my heart. I'm still smiling from it.

Oh and I didn't get to tell the story of the man that I meant.

Here it is.

I met a man who was pruning trees. He was exceptionally good at it. Some people prune trees and make them look like they had a losing fight with a chain saw. Not this man.  Next to the trees that he'd pruned, there was a stack of limbs but the trees looked as if they'd naturally grown up beautiful.
I stopped to talk to him and ask him if he pruned pecan trees. We had some trees that needed help. What I could see from the road was the best recommendation that man could have. What I didn't know is what would happen as a result.

During the conversation, I thanked him for being so nice to talk to me.
That's when our conversation turned to religion.
He told me that he tried to treat all strangers as if he was entertaining one of God's angels. It was something he'd read in The Bible. Something about treating all strangers with kindness.

Something about entertaining angels unaware.

I hope that I was kind to you all a stranger.


That's why when I hugged your neck, I made the comment of angel's wings growing out of your back. I thought at the time, "She's gonna think that I'm crazy. I should tell her about the story the man on the road told me."

I hope that you will read this so you'll know.





Hugs.

Writer Ann

PS I went to the restaurant and told them that someone might come by.  If you get a chance to come this way, please let me know either here or DM on the Tweety.  I'd like to repay the kindness for the pizza.  The food is really good and the people are nice. (Everyone has their bad days though just in case.) If you come on Sunday, maybe you could go to church with us and then have Sunday dinner.

Or you could come share Thanksgiving with us during the Thanksgiving week.

Let me know.