love in the aisles

The baby was as cute as a cliche; blue eyes, red cheeks, blonde curly-cues, and alligator tears. Her mom was frazzled but peaceful, trying to soothe the little one as the toddler played in the front of the cart. Her groceries were piling high on the conveyer belt and the line behind her was growing. Everywhere you looked, there were women giving her smiles of condolence or one line encouragements; the mom only saw how much time she was taking; her 'mom guilt' was rising fast. The friendly Eastern lady in front of me instructed two of her three statuesque daughters to help the young woman load her groceries in the cart; she has four kids of her own, she told me, she knows how hard it can be at the store. The young mom stood there holding baby, fumbling for a soother, kissing the tiny forehead, thanking the daughters. The teller turned around every 9 seconds or so to smile at them. With her groceries finally loaded, and her new milk in there too (the first one was broken and leaking), she readied herself to push the piling cart outside; cereal and children balanced precariously. A female staff member, ready in her vest, rushed over all smiles, to push the cart for the mom we all wanted to care for.

There is something so remarkable about the goodness in humanity, because it plays out so simplistically. Grand gestures amaze, but small acts of kindness heal the soul. To see so much happy grace play out at once brought tears to my eyes; I've been hoping to see more of the good. Somehow I'd forgotten where to look: in the everyday.

artist unknown