Reaping

I'm a big believer in karma, instant and otherwise. That's not the only (or main) reason I try to be a good person, but I won't say I don't like it when goodness comes back to me. Today was one of those days, not in any tangible way, just in feelings. My oldest son called when I was on my way to a hair appointment; a water main had broken near his work building and everything shut down. He didn't find this out until he had driven the hour-commute, but he still enjoyed getting a day off, especially as his two-week vacation starts tomorrow. We chatted until my hair appointment time (I was uncharacteristically right on time; usually I'm at least fifteen minutes early) and I told him I'd call him when I got home.

I had a nice catching up time with my stylist, and when the assistant (I don't think they're called "shampoo girls" anymore) finished rinsing out my color and had given me a nice head massage, I went back to my stylist's chair. "We had a nice chat," I told her, referring to me and the assistant. She said, "You're so easy to talk to. Everybody loves you. I wish I could be like that." Well, that was a nice thing to say. Maybe part of the reason she likes me is that I always tip twenty percent on already-expensive services. I'm not vain about much, but because I have a job where I'm always in front of people, my hair is going to look good, damnit!

When I got home, I called my son back -- I forgot to mention that all day long I was trying to finish grading a batch of papers. Would I rather shoot the breeze with a variety of people? You betcha! -- and we talked for almost two hours. As soon as I got off the phone with him, my granddaughter was texting me. Obviously, I wasn't going to ignore her so I could get my work done. (I did end up getting all my papers graded despite the sweet little interruptions.) We had a nice little exchange in which she said, in reference to my youngest son's college graduation on Friday, "It seems like just yesterday we were going to his high school graduation." How precious is that, coming from an eleven-year-old? I said she was right, it did indeed seem that way (actually my exact words were, "Girl, you ain't lyin'!"), and that all the kids were just growing up too fast.

Did I also mention that I was making cookies for my students on this last night of class? I did some multi-tasking while talking to my oldest son; I'd already made the cookie dough, so it was just a matter of scooping and baking. I bagged a few up for the sentries at the base gate, and after I handed them to one of the guards and he thanked me and I drove off, I heard him say to the others, "We got cookies!" My students ate every single one and finished their presentations, even though we had to stay a little late to get them all in. They were being good citizens, sticking around so their peers at the end of the presentation list had an audience. I thought it was awesome.

I get that these things may not be everyone's idea of "shows of love" but individually and especially together, they made my day.