Beautiful, yet random wheat field

I did it!  I did my first, true, not-known to me giveaway this week!  I don’t even know the person’s name, where they live, or whether they even eat bread.  Go figure.

What I do know is that they approach life with absolute joy.  A joy that is contagious to others.  My giveaway this week was to a local crossing guard at a school my children don’t even attend.  Each week, after dropping my kids off at school, I pass by her school and she waves to me.  But she doesn’t just wave to me.  She waves to each and every car that drives by.  She has a smile as big as the morning and wears a wide-ranging assortment of the craziest, seasonal, and most fun headbands I have ever seen.  Sometimes the headbands are covered in flowers and spring themes, sometimes its fall, and I believe there are even a pair of glittered shamrocks on springs that sort of bounce around for St. Patrick’s day.  They are whimsical and fun.  Any one of these qualities–the smiling, the waving, the headbands–would have been enough for me to think that this Happy Crossing Guard approaches life with a certain Joie de vivre.  But all together?  It is a joyful trifecta!  I can only imagine that she brightens others days as well.

I had been hatching a plan to deliver the bread this week but wasn’t sure how to make it work.  I mean, when I have a window of time to go by her, she is very busy keeping children safe.   It wouldn’t really do for me to distract her from her very real safety duties just so I can give her bread.

So, on the morning of the delivery, something funny happened.  As in someone funny happened.  God happened.  There was just a giant universe driven conspiracy to make things work out and for me to get there when I did, at exactly the right time.  First, my daughter was supposed to get a ride with a neighbor that morning giving me a few extra minutes, but my neighbor called at the last minute and explained they had overslept and couldn’t take her.  Next, and this is funny, I felt compelled, and I mean compelled, by a driving force to take a picture of a field of wheat.  No joke.  I had been admiring said field for the last several days en route to my kid’s school, but I am not that person who stops to take pictures.  I admire them, sure, but take pictures?  Nope.  But delivery morning, I was exactly that person (see above…).  I can’t fully explain how I was simultaneously fretting over whether or not I would have adequate time to do the drop-off and yet felt it was a fine time to admire a wheat field.  However, I do know they both occupied equal footing in my mind.  My offspring were not amused.

After unplanned picture taking and drop off of child number 2, my son and I made our way to his school to drop him off.  And we hit every stinking light and got caught in 3 traffic backups.  That is not really even possible in my small town of 7,000 people, but alas on this day it was.  So, finally, kid number 1 is dropped off, and I drive along the road toward my intended recipient.  As I approach, I realize that no one is behind me.  No one is coming from the other direction either.  No kids are to be seen.  Near a school.  At 7:50 am.  I whip my car around, park, and do a mad crazy bread lady dash up to the happy crossing guard.  Bless her for even hearing what I was saying.  I kept it brief–I had included a card with a note to the Happy Crossing Guard to explain what I was doing.  She smiled her trademark smile, gave me a big hug, and I was back in my car and on my way.  My own grin was fully intact.  I was a bread ninja off to start my day.

So, for any and all who contributed to my timing that morning and somehow had their morning routine altered so I could pursue this bread delivery, thank you.  Whether your timing changed because you dropped your coffee and had to change your shirt, or you overslept, or your tractor wouldn’t start so you couldn’t mow that beautiful field yet and I got to stop and take a picture…thank you!  You played a part in the God-driven universe plan to get me to the school at the exact right time.  You got to play a role in loving on a happy person.  I am sure the Happy Crossing Guard is smiling and waving at you too.