I was standing in the grocery check-out line behind a 20-something girl who had put a bag of organic cat kibble on the counter, waiting for her turn to pay. She wore a beige hoodie, sweatpants, and slippers, seeming to realize she unexpectedly needed cat food in the early evening.
I mentally noted that it was nice she was buying such good quality food for her cat. Lost in this thought, I suddenly heard a conversation between a small older woman at the front of the line and the bagger loading her groceries. He cautioned that the two bags he’d just packed were heavy and asked if the woman needed help to her car. She said, “No thanks, I’m walking.” “But these bags are heavy,” he replied. The cat food girl heard this and asked, “Where are you going?” “Just a couple blocks to Cedar Street.” “No problem, I’ll walk with you,” the young girl replied, and the woman lit up with gratitude, accepting the kind offer. All of us in the grocery line smiled and acknowledged the tender moment as the two left the store together.
I paid for my groceries, and walking to my car, I considered finding them to offer to drive them both. But as I turned out of the parking lot, I saw them crossing the street engrossed in conversation and decided against it, allowing their connection to play out uninterrupted (I imagined the woman inviting the girl in for a cup of tea). This random intergenerational kindness touched me profoundly, and I drove home smiling, my heart full on the first night of Chanukah.
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Janet Keller, Santa Monica