Another Angle

As I was walking out of my apartment building last weekend, I saw one of my elderly neighbors dragging a garbage bag behind her. I don't interact much with my neighbors; I exchange just simple greetings when we pass one another. I know she lives on my floor, but never went so far as to introduce myself, etc. When I would pass her and say hello or good morning, she would almost grunt. So I came to think of her as my grumpy old neighbor.

But as I watched this little, old woman drag the garbage bag with one hand and use a cane to steady herself with the other, I couldn't bear to not offer help. So I did. And she was extremely gracious.

After I dropped her garbage in the dumpster, she was smiling and kept thanking me and told me that I was her angel. She explained that she was on her way to visit her husband who is in the nursing home. She pointed to the bag slung around her wrist and told me that she had made them lunch; I could see two foil-wrapped sandwiches. This melted me. We continued with our pleasantries, she thanked me again, and we both went on our way.

And it was yet another moment in life where I was zapped with the truth that you never know what another is enduring...