Friday, April 26, 2013

Stepping out of the comfort zone

I meant to post this a week ago and then I got a bit side-tracked.  Birthday celebrations, elder children doing laundry, blah, blah, blah.  Anyhoo, I stepped out of my comfort zone.  I did something entirely out of character for me.  A lot of people will tell you that I am a cold-hearted bitch.  I may appear bitter and angry.  Those closest know the difference.

Back to the story, though.  A week ago, the girl child decided to have dinner at a restaurant with some friends.  I, of course, had to take them and would then have to return to pick her up.  I had a big debate about whether or not I was going to drive home and then go back to get her.  I decided to run a few errands and then go to toxic hell (otherwise known as Taco Bell) for dinner.  

I had never been inside this particular toxic hell.  There was a small line, but since I had to kill time, I wasn't overly concerned.  There was an elderly lady in front of me.  She got her food and went to sit down.  I had to wait a bit but then got my food.  I don't know why, but I walked over to the elderly lady and asked her if I could sit with her. 

No, it was not the only seat available.  Most of the people were taking their food and leaving.  I just felt like I needed to sit with her.  Her name was Maggie.  She was 68 years old (I think - it's been a busy week, can't remember exactly).  She lost her husband 6 months ago.  They had been married since she was 18.  They had no children, but she has no regrets about that.  She told me all about her marriage and how wonderful her husband was.  She shared beautiful life stories.

That meal for me, was amazing.  The food was unimportant - doesn't matter if it wasn't great.  The company definitely made up for it.  I didn't gain any money for sitting with her.  I didn't gain great knowledge or the secret to ever lasting youth.  I didn't get an award.

I chose to dine with a lovely older lady for no reason other than it felt like the thing to do.  That meal for me was a blessing.  She didn't do anything spectacular, but she made my day just by speaking with me.

I encourage everyone to take a chance and step out of their comfort zone.  It's a very gratifying experience and one I would love to repeat.

2 comments:

  1. I love when you step out of your comfort zone and do things like this. Do you know how awful it is to eat your meals alone, day in and day out. She probably gained more from the experience than you will ever know.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Did I forget to tell you that I nominated you for the Liebster award? Check out my blog post for details.

    ReplyDelete