Sophie saves the day

At the post office today, Sophie and I patiently stood behind a long line of people waiting to mail holiday packages. As a diversion, I told Sophie to listen for the bell the employees ring every time they finish helping a customer. I explained that every "ding!" meant we were one step nearer to being next. She eagerly awaited each ring and would scream after every one, "YAY! We're getting closer!" We'd been waiting about ten minutes when a woman waltzed into the room, bypassed the line entirely and stepped up to a suddenly open window. Her timing was impeccable; it was as if she'd materialized out of thin air at the precise moment a spot opened. The clerk didn't even have a chance to ring the bell. The woman plopped her boxes down and imparted mailing instructions to the befuddled postal worker as if she were queen of the world. I was struck dumb at her audacity. Apparently others were too, because we all just sorta stood there, speechless. No one confronted the woman, but soon a handful of people became increasingly vocal in their dismay. I seriously thought a fight was gonna break out. Amazingly, the woman didn't even acknowledge the uproar she was causing. It's possible she was oblivious to all the complaining going on directly behind her, but I doubt it. I just don't think she cared. Either way, I know she heard my little one. Just as everyone's anger seemed to be reaching the boiling point, Sophie pointed directly at the lady and shouted, "Hey! It's not your turn! Da bell didn't ding!" The line cutter didn't say a thing, but her face turned red enough to tip me off that she had caught every word of Sophie's spot-on tattling. The rest of the people sure did, because every person in line started cracking up. Sophie had no clue what was going on, but she knew she'd done something funny. So, of course, she started milking it, dancing in a circle and singing her own weird version of (as she calls it) "Jingle Bell All The Way." Everyone (except the evil line cutter, of course) loved it. We were all laughing so hard that no one seemed to notice when the woman finally left. We reached the front, did our thing, and waved goodbye at the people behind us who were still giggling. For the first time in my life, I left the post office in a great mood.

After the post office, we went to the grocery store. Sophie was be-bopping happily alongside me as I searched for the perfect gift card for Emma's teacher. An older woman caught sight of Sophie and started oohing and aahing over her. She was in love with Sophie, I swear. She reached into her purse and asked if she could give Sophie a surprise. I figured she was gonna whip out some kind of little treat, so I said sure. Our brand new friend proceeded to give Sophie a crisp dollar bill. I protested, but the woman just shushed me and said that seeing Sophie's face had brought joy to her morning. She explained that she had no kids or grandkids of her own, and she wanted to give Sophie something special. Sophie grinned ear to ear at her present and exclaimed, "Thank you! This is the bestest dollar I never seen!"

Walking back to the car, I marveled at the magic of Sophie. She has a way about her, and I'm not just saying that because she's my kid. She touched a lot of people today. Thinking about that kind woman in the store with no family of her own, I felt so incredibly grateful. One moment with my daughter is enough to put a smile on a stranger's face, and I get to enjoy the gift of Sophie every day.