An Old Habit
--
August 2006
It was the end of a long workday and everyone in the vanpool was taking their time walking out to the parking lot. The awaiting van had cooked for a full day in the hot Arizona sun and no one was in a hurry to sit in that super-heated steel box and wait for the A/C to kick in.
I was walking slower than the others, avuncularly listening and nodding to my conversation companion, a lovely young woman in her early thirties. She was exotically attractive, smart and confident, well read and happily married to one lucky man. Normally she was a woman of elegance and poise, but now she was channeling a giddy, young teenage girl who was trying her best to keep a secret while sharing it at the same time. It was the same secret she'd shared with me as we rode the van into work this morning.
She usually sat in the front and talked with the driver, but this morning she sat next to me in the very back. I patiently waited as she talked about everything in the world except what she wanted to talk about. Finally, she leaned over and whispered her secret. I smiled, congratulated her, then gave her a small hug and passed blessings onto her and her husband.
Now, as we walked out to the parking lot, she noticed I was treating her differently. I thought I hid my actions so no one would notice, but she was well aware of them.
"You're protecting me."
She was right. It's something I've done since I was a little boy. At that early age, my parents told me to look after my sister, Diane. "You always protect your sister, Mike". Later that would apply to all the women in my life, even those I didn't know. Even the ones who never knew I had stepped from the shadows to protect them from harm (or that I got hurt in the process). I guess that's how it should be. Ignorance is bliss when it comes to experiencing the ugly side of life.
I nodded my head. "Yes, I am" and continued walking next to her.
She smiled from the inside out, as only mothers-to-be can smile.
She leaned over and whispered, "Thank you".
--
August 2006
It was the end of a long workday and everyone in the vanpool was taking their time walking out to the parking lot. The awaiting van had cooked for a full day in the hot Arizona sun and no one was in a hurry to sit in that super-heated steel box and wait for the A/C to kick in.
I was walking slower than the others, avuncularly listening and nodding to my conversation companion, a lovely young woman in her early thirties. She was exotically attractive, smart and confident, well read and happily married to one lucky man. Normally she was a woman of elegance and poise, but now she was channeling a giddy, young teenage girl who was trying her best to keep a secret while sharing it at the same time. It was the same secret she'd shared with me as we rode the van into work this morning.
She usually sat in the front and talked with the driver, but this morning she sat next to me in the very back. I patiently waited as she talked about everything in the world except what she wanted to talk about. Finally, she leaned over and whispered her secret. I smiled, congratulated her, then gave her a small hug and passed blessings onto her and her husband.
Now, as we walked out to the parking lot, she noticed I was treating her differently. I thought I hid my actions so no one would notice, but she was well aware of them.
"You're protecting me."
She was right. It's something I've done since I was a little boy. At that early age, my parents told me to look after my sister, Diane. "You always protect your sister, Mike". Later that would apply to all the women in my life, even those I didn't know. Even the ones who never knew I had stepped from the shadows to protect them from harm (or that I got hurt in the process). I guess that's how it should be. Ignorance is bliss when it comes to experiencing the ugly side of life.
I nodded my head. "Yes, I am" and continued walking next to her.
She smiled from the inside out, as only mothers-to-be can smile.
She leaned over and whispered, "Thank you".
--
posted by Mike Chandler | 8:06 PM
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