Thanks Fadra for the Stream of Consciousness Sunday post to remind me that I wanted to post this on my blog.
This past week I was shopping at Costco with my daughter. We go there at least once a week together. We were in a particularly long checkout line trying to pass the time. I noticed that the older gentleman behind us only had one big beautiful bouquet of flowers. My daughter distracted me and wanted to play another “I Spy” round so I did not speak to the man then. Soon, we got to the register area and we put all of our items on the conveyer belt. As I reached for the thing that goes in between your order and the one behind you, so did the man behind us. He smiled at me and said, oops, I was almost holding your hand there. I smiled and said, no worries. He lovingly placed his bouquet on the conveyer belt. I asked him, who are these beautiful flowers for? His eyes smiled at me and he took a laminated photo from his front pocket and handed it to me. That is Charlotte, my wife. I told him that Charlotte must be very lucky that he would wait in such a long line to buy her some flowers. He shared with me that Charlotte passed away a year ago and he came to Costco every week to buy her some sweet smelling flowers. This man touched my heart in a way that no one has lately. His love for his deceased wife was still so strong. My silly items I was buying were no longer meaningful and my tears began to flow. Charlotte was one lucky woman. We rarely take the time each day to appreciate the ones we love. A week later I find myself still thinking about him. As I type this post my eyes are filled with tears. I hope that everyone who reads this can feel the love that Charlotte does. My daughter held my hand a lot tighter as we walked to the car and told me that she was glad she got to meet the nice old man in Costco. Next time I see a beautiful bouquet of flowers, I will think of him and I will cherish each moment and try to take the time to tell my family that I love them.
Life is funny. We never know who, when, or where we will be touched by someone or something. I love those moments. Now when I see flowers I will think of you, thinking of him, thinking of his wonderful wife.
He was probably thrilled to share Charlotte with you, too. I wonder if he brings them to her grave? I love bringing flowers to graves. It is actually a very peaceful place to visit, the cemetery. It is hard to get me away from cemeteries and I actually seek them out on vacations. Weird, I know.
I’m glad you got to have this experience and share it with all of us.
I read this on my phone last week and never had a chance to comment. I loved this story and I’m glad you found that what would be a small part of the day to most people was most certainly blog-worthy.