Monday, April 29, 2013

Meant to be

Today, as I left the parking lot of Ralphs, I drove past a homeless woman holding a sign asking for change and thought for a moment that I might stop and give her what I had. I offered a smile instead and headed to the gas station where I quickly realized I didn't have my wallet. As I retraced my steps I realized it was still in my shopping cart in the parking lot at the grocery store.

I smiled again at the homeless woman as I pulled in the parking lot and immediately spotted my wallet. Seeing an opportunity to tell the world (ya know, the 43 people who follow me on Twitter), I decided to take a photo of the mishap.  Which turned into 5 minutes of getting the right angle and picking the right effect.























I hopped back in my car, smiled for a third time and then looked down at my passenger's seat. No wallet. Are you kidding me?

A U-turn and an additional smile later, I was back in the parking lot laughing at myself. Did I REALLY leave it again? Unbelievable.

As I pulled out of the parking lot, I stopped to tell the homeless woman my story and that it clearly meant the five dollars I had in my wallet was meant to be hers.

I hope she bought something great.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Tampons to Tugboats

I'm visiting family in Tennessee to work on an ongoing family archive project.  There are so many great things about this, but I'm always blown away by the southern charm and true hostess qualities of my Aunt Bettie.

Your glass and your stomach will always be full.

And in one of the guest bathrooms, she's been sure to include everything one might need when traveling -- soap, shampoo, tampons, extras of everything and even tugboat toys for bath time.