It was hard to get through the rotten day.  It’s been hard to get through every day lately.  When you feel like you’re being dragged through events over which you have no control.  And you’re being blamed for it, no matter how much you’ve fought against it. 

I had wonderful things to do today but I couldn’t do them, nothing. By evening we decided to go to the supermarket to buy all the chocolate they had.  And there we discovered two things that made my day turn around.

First, we ran into my grandson, who, it turned out, was with two other boys who were trying to get people to contribute food for the many many people who have nothing to eat on the holidays that begin next week, to buy something from a list of necessities they passed out.  The fact that 14 year old boys could overcome their natural shyness to approach strangers in the supermarket for the sake of the less fortunate than them raised my spirits even as the fact that there are people who need these contributions lowered them.  It reminded me that we may be in uncontrollable situations, but we must do what we can to make life better.

the second thing that happened was a very common event at the cashiers.  I often joke with cashiers, but only the Arab cashiers joke back.  This time there were two girls, one learning from the other.  And, because I am a bit deaf, I didn’t hear what she said when she asked me for my id number.  So I made up for my stupidity by rattling off the numbers slowly.  So she said, “that’s it?” and I said, “you want more?”  This led to a dialogue that continued throughout the checkout – emphasizing the importance of putting men in their place…

All this reminded me of what I’ve been doing all along – doing what I can to make life bearable in a situation over which I have no power.