Monday, June 6, 2016

Today was one of those days that so tempted me to crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head and it was finally drawing to a close. I was relieved, but not because the dawning of another day, with an opportunity to begin anew just hours away, but because I had three deep, dark, bittersweet, chocolate bars in my cart and I was headed for the checkout line. Yes, I had made a chocolate run to the health food store. On those rare days when things consistently go awry to the point where I believe that Murphy's law should be renamed Ima's law, a hunk of organic, dark chocolate makes me feel yummy again.

My morning began with me stumbling over the shoes I had left in the middle of the floor last night. While I was still chastising myself for not putting them in the closet I knocked over my cup of coffee and shortly after that a bottle of my favorite essential oil! I let loose a string of curse words that would make a sailor blush. That prompted Bobby to make a well intentioned, yet grossly misguided attempt to make me laugh, by asking if I needed help beating myself up. I was not amused! When a friend dropped by needing a ride to town I considered it divine intervention. I would get a respite from what was sure to be ongoing attempts from Bobby the cheerleader, to make me laugh at myself and I could pick up my own feel better prescription...chocolate!

I got in line behind a woman who only had one item, a small, clear, plastic bag of chocolate chips from the bulk bin. Another chocolate lover! She looked rather disheveled and as she limped forward to check out I noticed her wince slightly. Apparently I wasn't the only one overwhelmed with challenges today. The woman mumbled that it should only be around sixty cents while the cashier tried to make out the product code scribbled on the twist tie. She weighed the bag of chocolate chips and told her that the total was $3.46. The woman looked disappointed, opened her handful of change and said "Never mind, I don't have that much."

I heard myself say to the cashier, "I'll pay for it. Just ring it up with my stuff and let her take it."

"Thank you! Are you sure?" the woman asked

"Absolutely!" I reassured her "A girl's gotta have her chocolate!" I laughed pointing to my three bars of deliciousness on the conveyor belt.

"Thank you so much!" she said. "A few nibbles of chocolate is what's keeping me sane after that wind storm Saturday. I just got my electricity back on." she shared.

The cashier smiled and handed her the bag of chocolate chips. I waved and wished her a blessed day. My eyes teared up as I remembered my Dad paying it forward. He'd pay for people's gas and coffee then run out to sit in his car watching their faces light up with surprise when the cashier told them that their purchase had been paid for.

The cashier interrupted my nostalgic moment by asking me for my rewards card. "Mana is my last name, first name Ima." I told her

"Thanks" she said, then smiled. "You have a $5 reward with today's purchase, would you like to use it?"

"Talk about serendipitous!" I smiled back. "Yes indeed!"

I am so glad that I didn't crawl back in bed today!  I feel great satisfaction in adding a bunch of tiny, sweet morsels of joy to someone else's life.

Ima's law..."When anything that can go wrong, does go wrong...eat chocolate!"

2 comments:

  1. What a treat it was for me to read about your chocolate surprise, especiqlly after I had just eaten some semi-sweet chocolate chips right before clicking onto your blog :) Also, I, too, had a 'sweet surprise' today...when out to buy ginger and lemon for Michael, to make a soothing broth, I ran into 2 friends, one whom I was able to give comfort and support to ....and the other who gave support to us, by recommending some Chinese herbs, which I then found at my very next planned stop' which Che had been unaware of!~ As you expressed, it is such a wonderful feeling to both give and receive support unexpectedly! Made me smile to know we both had these blessings today :)

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    1. Lol...I see my typos... Never took typing on purpose...did not want to become a secretary...ironically, I make an excellent secretary! ;)

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