Angel in the Baking Aisle

I was standing in front of the cake-decorating supplies, trying to decide which package of cupcake liners to buy.

Compared with other choices I’d been wrestling with that day, this one was pretty straightforward. Foil or paper. Multi-colored or white. Easy peasy.

I was about to choose the cheapest option when a lady came down the aisle and stopped right next to me.

“Do you do a lot of baking?” she asked.

When I’m at the grocery store, I’m not afraid to make eye contact, small talk or even product suggestions—mostly when asked, of course. (I think I learned this from my daughter Lilly—even as a preschooler, she had no qualms about complementing other shoppers on their colorful tattoos or inviting them to our house for lunch.)

But this woman took my retail friendliness to a whole new level.

When I said, yes, I did do some baking, she excitedly asked if I had ever made Crème Brûlée Cookies. As she described the cream-cheese frosting, she pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of what I assumed to be her first attempt at making them.

I was impressed. The cookies looked delicious. She had recruited her husband to help her, she said, and they had managed to caramelize the frosting with a blow torch from the garage without burning down the kitchen.

This lady, who looked to be in her 60s, may have been an attention seeker or someone wanting validation about her baking efforts. In my heart, though, I don’t think so.

My encounter with her was short—just a few minutes, if that. But as she headed down the aisle toward her husband and I pushed my cart around the corner, my spirits were lifted and my steps felt lighter.

I don’t want to over dramatize the situation, but I have to admit I did wonder for a moment—Could she have been an angel?

Somehow, she actually did remind me of Clarence from It’s a Wonderful Life. Maybe it was her friendly smile or her cheerful exuberance. Or maybe it was the way she had purposefully stopped to talk with me as I studied the cupcake liners.

Even though she was talking about her cookies, I left our interaction feeling noticed.

Do I even need to tell you what a gift that was? Especially nowadays, when people go about their business with their heads down and their earbuds in, when we are surrounded by humanity wherever we go and yet often feel so isolated? It’s amazing what a simple conversation with a total stranger can do.

I’ve been thinking about this as I go about my daily life. I’m not one to pull out my phone and show fellow shoppers pictures of my latest culinary achievements. But looking for other points of connection and drawing a line between myself and someone else?

I can do that—in the greeting-card aisle, the health-and-beauty aids department or (especially this time of year) the garden center.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Purposeful Faith, #TellHisStory, Let’s Have Coffee, Faith on Fire, Faith ‘n Friends and Grace & Truth.