Lessons From the Edge

Even simple things can make someone happy.

Who doesn't like to make another person happy?
When I do special things, make elaborate plans to delight a heart, or go the extra mile in order to make a difference - I often find I am just as blessed as the recipient.
I love, LOVE to see happy people.

But this week at Edgewood (Or, rather, at Walmart...) I was reminded that it really isn't necessary to go to extremes in order to bring about delight.

Tuesday I took a group of residents on our monthly excursion to Walmart. After I had dropped them off and parked the bus, I went into the store. Upon entering, I saw C. She was walking toward me and said she wanted to stay with me, because B wasn't paying attention and kept leaving her behind. (B and C are a couple, and do just about everything together.) One look at B told me he was a bit exasperated with C. I'm guessing she is the one who wasn't paying attention. (She has memory difficulties and often gets confused.) So I said to her, "OK. How about you and I have some girl-time this afternoon," and I winked at B. He got my message. I'll keep an eye on C. You go ahead and enjoy yourself.
And with that, C and I were on our way.
First we came across a display of Dr. Suess books. I squealed with delight and asked C if she'd ever read any of them. She had not. So I picked up Are You My Mother? and read it to her right there in the middle of the store.
From there we wandered over to the clothing section and admired all the pretty colors. We felt the soft things and enjoyed the sparkly things. We looked at the clearance prices and talked about what good deals they were. "That's nearly free!" she kept saying.
After a little more wandering, we made our way to the jewelry counter. And, oh!, did we ever see some pretty things there?! Though C was certain B would never buy her anything we saw, she had fun imagining. And I had fun watching her.

The next thing we knew, it was time to meet the rest of the gang to head back to Edgewood, so that's what we did. But not before C told me about twenty times how much she enjoyed going around the store with me.
The size of her smile, and the frequency of her comments told me she really, really, really enjoyed herself. At first I thought, But I hardly did anything! And that's when it dawned on me, Even simple things can make someone happy.