Conversations

I was at the grocery store yesterday getting some food for the week.  I was on the last part of my shopping trip...down the freezer aisle to get some frozen perogies.  Yes, very asian....I know.  


Oooo.  They're on sale.  Grab a pack and I start heading to the end of the aisle to make a turn so I can head to the cashier to pay for my food.  Suddenly, a woman pops in front of my cart.  What the....!


Woman:  Hey...how are you?  I haven't seen you for a while....


Me: Oh hey...I'm well.  Yeah, I've been shopping at different days and times.  So I don't see people I used to see anymore.    How are you?


Woman:  Oh, ok.  I'm busy.  But my mom passed away and I'm still dealing....


So this conversation goes on for a while and I'm getting cold because I'm still in the freezer section.  But I just felt like the woman needed someone that day to just pour out her soul about the passing of her month a couple of months ago and how she's dealing with her dad now, how she's trying to go on with life, etc.  


Ok.  I get it.  Sounded like she was having a tough day and saw a familiar face and needed to download, even if it was at a local grocery store.   She was tearing up and everything.  Felt terrible for her.  


I don't usually have a problem with this at all as we all have days that we just need to download.   But on this day, there were a couple of things that were not good about this situation:


1) We didn't know each other's name.  Awkward.  I would have asked and said I didn't remember...but when she went right into my mother passed away and the teary eyes came on, I just didn't have the heart to ask.  


2) She seemed to know me, but I'm telling you...I racked my brain and I tried to think of all the places I knew this woman...I had no stinking clue.  Worked with her?  Nope.  Her kids went to the same school as mine?  Nope.  Service person?  Nope.  


So seriously...I had no clue.  None.  Zippo.  Nada.  For the 10 minutes I stood in the freezer aisle freezing my butt off, I had no clue who I was talking to about the death of their mom.  I felt terrible.  


3) I've really come to the conclusion that this woman went home, realized she was talking to a total stranger that she thought was someone else.  


Well, I hope she felt better that day.