... it's the little things that scream volumes.

I saw something rather remarkable today... and of at all places, this happened at my local post office.

I left the house today at 3:15pm... may I inform those who are unaware, as I learned today, unless you are a parent or a school bus, you really have no business on the roads between 2:45 and 3:45pm.  I have never seen more angry mom drivers in their SUVs than I did on the 5 minute jaunt to the post office.  I try not to buy into that whole "women drivers are lousy drivers" thing... but let me tell you something, in the 25+ years I have been a liscenced driver, I have never experienced the amount of bad driving that I did today.  Maybe all the moms had somewhere they had to go, so the whole following the "rules of the road" thing kind of went out the window.  But I witnessed such utter disregard for STOP signs, cross walks and red lights that I have decided to completely rearrange my driving schedule to keep me free from the blacktop during this temultuous hour.



At any rate... after having safely arrived (barely) at our local postal office, my nerves were frayed!  As I exited my fabulous Honda FIT and proceeded to the door, I noticed this elderly woman walking toward the door.  She wasn't so old that one might consider her a nuisance (which I have observed is often the case), but she wasn't so young that she could run a marathon.  She was post-retirement, but pre-purple hair.  Think an older Kathy Bates... but without the sledgehammer.



Anyway, she was getting closer to the door and I wasn't feeling particularly inspired to run ahead to hold it open for her.  What I witnessed next shocked me... a young kid, maybe 16, was leaving the post office.  He headed out the door and let it close behind him.  He then saw this older woman approaching and he turned around and opened up the door for her.  She wasn't right there, so he actually had to wait a little bit and continue to hold the door.  Upon crossing over the threshhold, this mature gem of a lady very kindly said, "Thank You" to which he responded in his urban way, "Yeah, no problem!"

I know it is a small gesture... but it's the little things that scream volumes.  Immediately, I am thrust into questioning, "Why didn't I run up to open the door?" and "Why was I thinking about the women drivers the way that I was?" (well... except, they were pretty bad!) and "WOW! How awesome was that!" and "Hey, you know... kids aren't all that bad!" and "Older people are pretty amazing!" and "Why can't we all just be a little more attentive to others?"

So... it just surprised me that something so simple as opening a door could have such a profound effect!!!  I know it's that whole "Pay-it-Forward" thing and all... and I know I've experienced this kind of thing before... but it always hits me as profound when we're kind of jolted out of our every day by something that appears to be so simple and yet so generous.