Over the last few days I caught a few glimpses of all sides of the spectrum when it comes to humanity. The ups and the downs. Much like the ebb and flow of the tide.

Here are some of my glimpses…

While driving to work I saw this man walking his small Shih Tzu dog. I thought, “Oh that’s a sweet moment first thing in the morning, I miss our dog…,” and then as suddenly as the thought came it shifted.  I saw the man yank the leash towards him and yell at the dog, who startled began to run away. I almost slammed on my breaks and turned the car around. I had two thoughts.

One: That is not your pet Rachel and who knows the circumstance.

Two: You’re late to work and would it really be helpful or hinder yourself to question his decision?! I still do not feel splendid about the fact that I kept driving. That’s the truth of the matter though.

Today, a patient elderly couple were purchasing their medication at the drug store. I, standing in line with my sunglasses on peered at the husband as he sauntered over to a display rack of calendars. He smiled and pointed at one for himself. His wife walked over about one minute later and said, “Alright…” while folding her receipt neatly into her wallet. The husband said, “Wait,” and ever so gently pulled her shoulders towards the calendar in front of him. “Look,” he whispered, and then proceeded to read the title of the themed calendar aloud, “Senior Moments…” and then pointed to the photograph on the cover. He chuckled, she then laughed aloud and shook her head, which was followed with a rub on his arm. When I moved up in line I looked back at the calendar. Do you know what was on the cover? A photograph of the back of two elderly individuals, clothed, with one person’s hand on the buttocks of the other, pinching it.  Let the laughs ensue… you’re welcome. Needless to say the couple kept chuckling all the way towards the door.

My best friend has been out of town for a while.  I took care of her baby cat while she was away. Ok, he is not technically a baby, but you get the gist of my idea here. Every day, faithfully we would have an hour together around 5pm. Upon entry on my last visit, said kitty, promptly ran over to the door and declared fervently, “Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow.”  Then he scurried over to his food bowl and I swear, he pointed.  He was probably trying to say, “You did not give me enough food!! Do you see this bowl? I moved it a foot away searching for any left overs! THAT’S how hungry I was!”  He paced around until I refilled the bowl, then settled into happy munch and nom nom time. Later while I graded papers on the couch he sat at the opposite end.  He stopped mid-thigh clean, looked at me square in the eyes and nodded. I promise you he did. He must be a genius.  If only cats had opposable thumbs, they would rule the world I tell you!

Lastly, while reading responses sent through google docs by my students with the prompt, “Write me a letter about yourself, tell me a joke, explain something about yourself to me through writing.”  I came upon a letter to the teacher, me, that the child had written that made me laugh aloud, during a meeting.  Said child wrote, “Dear Mrs. ___, I would just like to say that you are a wonderful teacher. Thank you for answering my questions, sometimes I have a lot of them, but can you blame me?  Sometimes I get frustrated and want to just burst, you have helped me with this. Thank you.” Why, you are welcome dear one.

I leave you with this dear world, smile more, laugh with others, and always believe that there are better moments coming your way.

Sparkle on.