An Unexpectedly Lovely Evening

We thought we were going out to run a few errands in Springfield. We had the general outlines of a plan, but not the precise specifics. Such a trip is not a very Margaret-like thing to do. Margaret likes plans. She likes to have foreknowledge of the logistics.

But Dale was in the driver's seat this afternoon. 

We started just as we knew we would, driving to the far east side of Springfield to pick up a medicine sample at our doctor's office. That went without a hitch. Then we had to improvise. 

We'd brought along a couple wall heaters to drop off to a gal I connected with on Facebook. She just moved into a small house after hip surgery. The house is heated by a wood stove and the wood she had was green, so it wasn't burning properly and she was cold. I offered to drop off the space heaters we no longer need. Unfortunately, she wasn't home when we were done with our first errand. 

So ... what next? How about a chai latte. Yum. Then, a coffee for Dale? Ooops, we missed that turn. We mosied around town a bit, then decided to look at Christmas lights in some residential neighborhoods. I hadn't been out looking at lights yet this year because I hurt my back again, and riding in a bouncing car hurt too much last week.

By luck, we found some really nicely lit neighborhoods ... some older established middle class neighborhoods ... some quite upscale. All so pretty and sparkly. After 45 minutes of light peeping, I got a message that my little lady was home. Google Maps led us to her door ... but there were no lights on to greet us. Had I been alone, I would have turned around at that point. As luck would have it, the gal's brother came riding up on his bicycle, chatted with us a bit, then let his sister know to open the door.

We were able to gift the heaters to the gal, who obviously really needed the help. She was so grateful that she had the chance to be warm tonight. The encounter with her left me with a glow in my chest. I had a flood of memories and feelings. It reminded me of the year I was on the receiving end of such valuable gifts.  The year I had to grab the kids and leave my first husband, strangers helped my little family through the holidays with food, furniture and gifts.

Had I not been with Dale on this outing, I'd have left when there was no light on the porch. Instead, Dale's fearlessness and kindness allowed us to follow through with the gift. I didn't know that it was to be a gift exchange! I got to have that warm feeling inside knowing we were helping someone.

When we got back to our side of town, we were chatting with so much animation that we missed the turn into our neighborhood. We turned onto a cul-de-sac that we've often driven by, but never into. We got this happy surprise. It's what my daughters call a Dancing House. It's where the Christmas lights blink and dance to the sound of music. In this case, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

click for larger image

After that happy surprise, we drove up and down more of the streets in our own neighborhood. We lucked out in buying a house in a very family-oriented part of town where nearly every house decorates for the holidays. It was a magical end to this unexpected and unplanned evening.

Maybe in 2021 I can learn to be spontaneous slightly more often.

(I hear my daughters cackling from miles away as they read that sentence).