Suddenly *Not So* Single Journey

Happiness is never meeting a stranger…

Author: thenicknick

Would you believe that I almost forgot that I was supposed to have a Happiness Thursday post?  And then…I went to Food Lion.  Still with me?

Okay.  Let me explain.  Food stores, as they call them in the south, make me happy to begin with.  I’m not sure what it is.  I suspect it’s all that food, all those ingredients, the promise of an incredible meal once I get home and throw it all together.  Ahhh.

Last night, however, it was something else.  I was already in a great mood.  We were going to be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.  And my guy is very Irish.  He’s so Irish that we’re contemplating a truly Irish wedding.  Being able to spend that time with him is special to me.

So, I was trying to make his life easier by going to the store to pick up the last few necessary ingredients for the perfect evening with our Bubble family.  And among those ingredients…Guiness.

Now, I don’t know much about Guiness…except that I once owned some Guiness jammies that I wore only for him and were the casualty of my cleansing ceremony when I moved out.  Aside from that, I stood there, one ingredient shy of the last item on the list and contemplated which of the Guiness products was coming home with me.

Finally, I was standing in line.  There was a woman in front of me and a Bubble fringe dweller in front of her.  And the fringe dweller and I have a…tainted history…which should be left for another time…if ever.  Now he is also Irish.  And somehow if just seemed like karma would frown on me if I ignored him on his day of days.  So, as he was leaving, I sucked it up and  said…

me: Bye, John!  Enjoying your holiday?

And he, thankfully, did not come over, but instead joked from afar for a minute.  That was sufficient.  And karma smiled on me.  The woman in front of me turned to study my items on the conveyor belt.

lady: So, you’re a Guiness drinker?

me: No, but apparently it’s the key ingredient in Irish Car Bombs.  And I’ve never had those before, but we’re having them tonight.

benevolent Irish man: Oh, no!  Not that Guiness.  You want this Guiness.

And he produced the other Guiness that I hadn’t grabbed.  And then he explained why his was the one I was supposed to get.  And he said something about ping pong balls which made me contemplate was I supposed to get those, too?

Next thing you know, I have switched out my Guiness and I’m about to pay.  The benevolent Irish man must have noticed the engagement ring on my finger, since the conversation continued.

bIm: Hey, I just got engaged.

me: Me too!  Valentine’s Day!

bIm: 10 minutes ago!  We’re really Irish.

Next thing you know, we’re talking about our Irish wedding plans.  And he’s offering suggestions for the best Irish days to marry.  And I’m talking about plaids and kilts.  Before you know it, he’s hugging me as I head out on my way.

I love this town.  I love the people.  I love that somehow, random acts make things right.  I love that kindness counts and strangers can look out for each other.  I love that it only takes these little acts to restore my faith in humanity.  See how easy it is to find happiness if only you seek it?

Quick Karma:

• practice generosity of spirit
  

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 5:52 am and is filed under Health and Beauty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.