No Ordinary Day at the Laundromat

Beach glass from Lake Erie and a broken shell from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl. ...LOVE the broken fragment of a scallop shell used for the wicker laundry basket!.....vwr:

I agree, sometimes life is about little things. Two little things I have always wished for are a washer and dryer at home.

Until that dream comes true, I appreciate commercial washers and dryers at local laundromats. Since I try to see the glass as half full and the up  side of things when able, I see the laundromat as a great asset. When I go, I am able to wash and dry many loads at  one time  There have been occasions I felt like I was the luckiest person alive – not because I won the lottery or made a great invention of some kind – but because I was the only one at the laundromat and used almost all the washers. Funny what one can consider a good day and luck.

Once, while working, I decided to wash clothes at a nearby Laundromat at lunch time. This meant more of the glass half full concept – lunch, wash, and all my loads done at the same time. Didn’t think life could get much better. I started my loads as usual. Soon after I arrived, two men arrived. One was an older gentleman and the other a grown man, but younger.

While we waited for washers and dryers to finish, I overheard the conversation between the two men. The younger man repeatedly asked the same questions. When would they be done? Would they have supper after they were finished? What were all the people doing shopping at the stores near the laundromat? And more. The younger man also stated the obvious over and over- they were doing wash and would be done soon, but how soon? Each time the younger man spoke, the older man kindly and softly responded and assured him they would done with the wash soon as well as answer the same question for the tenth time as if it were the first time being asked.

This  went on the entire time we washed clothes together. I was touched by the kindness and patience of the older man.  I was sure this young man was a permanent part of his life and he never seemed annoyed and never spoke harshly to him. I thought how easily annoyed I am sometimes.

When I was finished my wash, I walked over to the older gentleman and said, “You are a really kind man. It has been very touching to watch you with him.” In a surprised voice, the man replied, “Why, thank you.”  – as if he considered his acts of patience, kindness and love to this younger man just normal, not extraordinary, the way I thought.  His kindness and patience inspire me to be more like him.

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