i stayed home from work today since i still felt like crud when i woke up. i think it’s better to nip this thing in the bud and not wait till i can hardly drive myself home to decide to stay in bed.
i’ve been thinking about things i want and things that make me happy. i was in bed in my pjs doing something on the computer when someone knocked on the door and rang the bell. i was hoping it was someone sending get well flowers or soup, but since hardly anyone knows i’m here today it seemed unlikely.
i was right, it wasn’t soup or flowers, it was a kid selling subscriptions to magazines to get points to get to go to europe. he was super friendly and witty. normally i just turn them down but jimmy was funny and told me i could sponsor a subscription to the ronald mcdonald house. i picked out thomas and friends because i always liked thomas the tank engine myself. while he wrote out the form he chatted. he asked how to spell my name correctly, and when it came time to fill in the phone number blank he said, ‘you know, for dinner and a movie this weekend.’ he said he wanted to go into marketing and i think he’s just the right kind of schmooser to do it. when he asked if i had any other questions or concerns i hesitated, then told him i thought he’d find things might go easier for him if he quit smoking. not just because of health issues, i said, but i know a number of people who are strongly biased against smokers, and the fact that people could smell it on him could be a strike against him before he even got started. just something to chew on.
when he left we knocked elbows instead of high fiving or shaking hands since i didn’t want to pass my germs on to him. it was a little bright spot in my day of sitting alone in my room, both for the company and for the feeling that i do have enough money to buy a subscription to a magazine for children and families who are having a hard time.
while i was flitting around on the web i saw a picture of a woman getting flowers. it reminded me of when i lived in england. i was 13 and bought flowers for my mother every once in a while.
one day i was buying a one pound (cost, not weight) bouquet from a street vendor on my way home from a day of wandering around high street. the street vendor son was with him helping out in the back of their set up. the son spied me and when his dad went back to wrap the bouquet or write out a recipt or whatever it was he was doing, the son whispered something to him. as he walked back around front to where i was standing, the dad picked up a second bouqet just like the one i had picked out. he handed them both to me with a nod to his son. i smiled, shyly, and thanked him. i didn’t really know what to do so i just blushed, said thanks, and walked on home.
still, it’s a great memory and always makes me smile.