We moved to Ararat, Virginia, a little over ten years ago. The nearest town is Mount Airy, North Carolina, also know as “Mayberry” because of it’s connections with Andy Griffith. During the years, we’ve made many, many, many trips back and forth to Mayberry. And we take one of two paths to get there.
On one of those paths, we often pass a woman out for a walk. I believe she walks from her home to the neighborhood store because we always see her on the same stretch of road.
After seeing her a number of times, we began to wave to her. At first, we could tell that she was looking hard to see if she recognized us. She’d wave just to be neighborly. But that was it.
Over the years, however, just as we recognized her as the lady we wave to, she began to recognize us as the car she waves at. The smiles became warmer and more genuine between us. We looked forward to seeing her.
A few weeks ago, my daughter and son-in-law pulled over to talk with her just a bit. I was so excited to finally learn her name, but they hadn’t thought to ask.
It’s funny to see how much this lady we wave to has come to mean to our family. Maybe she’s a symbol of the friendliness of small communities. Maybe she’s been woven into the fabric of our lives, even if just on the fringe. Whatever she is, she’s a positive part of our lives that we enjoy.
Last week, our mini van died. It had given service well past what was expected of it, so I can’t be too sad. Now we have a different mini van – one that our lady does not recognize.
On the way back from church, we saw her walking away from the little neighborhood store. We waved, but she didn’t notice. It was the feeling of disappointment that let me know how much we counted on seeing her friendly face and kind gestures.
Are there people in your life that you look forward to seeing? Even more imporant, are there people who look forward to seeing you, even if it’s just for a kind exchange of words, or even just wave? It’s worth thinking about.
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