SMILES!

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I needed more weed-eater cord and some gas for the yard machines. The young man cleaning outside was doing a fine job, and I didn’t want his work interrupted by lack of material so, without changing from my very casual ‘working at home’ attire, I jumped into the truck and headed to town. I yelled at him through an open window on the way down the driveway, “I’ll be back in 30 minutes!”

It was only when I arrived at the village limits that it hit me. Today was Tuesday…Flea Market day. As I sat at the side road stop sign, waiting for vehicle after vehicle to crawl slowly by, I knew that there was no way I could do my usual rush around. Driving in our village on Flea Market day is as exasperating as trying to go anywhere in a hurry through city traffic! For many of the area farmers, it is the one day of the week they take the time…and plenty of it….to meander around town, doing all their shopping, or visiting, or treating themselves to a restaurant meal. Add their slow and careful driving to that of hesitant tourists looking for directions and you soon realize you are not going anywhere fast!

Hunched over my steering wheel, spitting and muttering to myself, I begrudgingly waved a thank-you to the courteous driver who stopped and beckoned for me to pull out ahead of him. Both he and his passenger, an elderly lady sporting a straw hat, waved back and...what huge smiles they gave me! Big, warm, cheerful expressions of glee! I blinked, and hardly had time to think about it before I was smiling back at them. My mood immediately lightened, my hands unclenched, and my breathing eased.

It took much longer than normal to reach the Canadian Tire store situated on the other end of town. It was crowded, and there was some negotiating in the people-filled aisles to reach the lawn care section. With my now more relaxed attitude, I noted that many of them were dressed similar to myself; jeans, checked shirt, and runners….and lots of caps or sunhats. No suits or heels here; these were comfortable country clothes.

Another thing most of them were wearing was smiles; smiles as they stopped to casually chat with a neighbor, smiles as they apologized and moved out of someone’s way, smiles as they teased the clerks who were assisting the hunt for that one particular article.

Yep – it was over two hours before I completed the 30 minute errand and could head to my house. The weed-eater had run out of cord, but the enterprising young man had found a pair of shears in the garage, and was trimming the hanging branches in the driveway when I arrived. He ambled over to help me unload the gas cans.

“Sorry,” I said. “It took a little longer than expected.”

“Yeh,” he answered. He’s a local boy, so he knew. “Flea market day.”

Grinning, he held up the shears. “These don’t need gas or cord. No sweat.” Of course not!

I was still musing on this learning experience when I returned to the pile of papers at my desk. This working from home will take some adjusting. No rush. No hassle. No sweat. Plenty of time to SMILE. Delightful!!

Sharing it with you!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec