The Angel

Bedtime. The most wonderful time of the whole day. It is the time I finally get to unwind from all the days activities. It becomes so peaceful in the house. No kids fighting or yelling. No laughing or playing video games. No banging on the drums and keyboard. No Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! Just peace and quiet.

My two daughters and I have a nighttime routine: Read a chapter of a storybook, say our prayers, hugs and kisses, then I ask Alexa to play lullaby music.

Last night was like any other night, after I read a chapter of a book about Neverland and the fairies, I started to say our prayers. When saying our prayers, my girls make sure I include “putting all of us into a bubble” and I always ask that God sends guardian angels to watch over the girls as they sleep. After giving the girls hugs and kisses and instructing Alexa to play music, I left their room to enjoy some “me” time before going to bed myself.

This morning I awake to wind howling and tree branches scraping against the window. Ugh, another dreary, winter day. Thank goodness it’s the weekend, I thought. I am usually the first one up no matter what day it is. If I ever slept past 7:00am that would be considered sleeping in for me.

After throwing on my robe and slippers, I go downstairs to indulge in my morning cup of coffee. I realize that we are out of several grocery items. One of these items being milk. I look outside and wonder if there was any way our family of five could go another whole day without milk. I sighed as the realization comes over me that no, there is no way we can go that long without it.

I sit and enjoy my coffee while watching a little news and reading. One by one the three kids start bouncing down the stairs to announce they are awake. I try to think of a good breakfast I can make that doesn’t involve milk.

Surprisingly, I was able to make a full breakfast. I made bacon and scrambled eggs. Then, I used a refrigerated can of cinnamon rolls for that something yummy and sweet. Yes, I kind of cheated with that one, but hey, I still fed the tiny humans. It will ward them off until lunchtime.

Around 10:00am I finally make my way upstairs to get showered and cleaned up so I can go to the grocery store before it gets too busy.

At the front door I slip on my boots, wrap my neck with a warm scarf, and choose my heaviest coat to put on. Opening the door, the feeling of dread comes over me. I really don’t want to go! I whine to myself, but I press on anyway.

Finally arriving at the store, I tell myself I’m just going to get the few items I need and get back home as quickly as possible. I hunt for the specific things I have jotted down on my mental notepad. Once I have completed my list, I head for the checkout.

Normally, on a day like today, I would have tunnel-vision at the store. I would be so focused on what I needed to do that I wouldn’t look at anyone or acknowledge anything around me. But, for some reason, my eyes shifted from the checkout lane that I was in to the next lane over. A young mother was struggling to get the groceries from her cart onto the conveyor belt while herding two toddlers away form the checkout area candy section and attempting to keep quiet a newborn in a carrier atop the cart. She was looking so stressed and on the verge of tears.

Once I finished checking out, I looked over at the young mother. I overheard the cashier say, “I’m sorry ma’am, your card was declined.”

“What?” asked the young mother, “Can I try again?”

Looking a little impatient, the cashier replied, “Yeah.” Then she set the card reader back up.

After the young mother tried her card again, the cashier says shaking her head, “I’m sorry, but it says it’s declined again.”

The young mother turned white as a ghost. Panicked, she proceeds to frantically search through her purse. She is holding up the line. She probes through her bag like she can magically find a solution at the bottom it.

I walked a little closer to her checkout lane. I wasn’t trying to be nosy, but I noticed that her total was $73.54. Without further hesitation, I came over to her and discreetly asked, “Would you mind if I paid for your groceries?”

With eyes full of tears, the young mother looks up at me. Her expression melted my heart and without any other words spoken, I swiped my card in the card reader and took care of the transaction. She remained speechless until I started to walk away. Following me to the store’s exit, she finally spoke, tears streaming down her face, “Thank you so much! You have no idea what this means to me.”

It looked as though she wanted to say more, but I interjected and said, “You are very welcome. God sent me here today for a purpose, and you were it. You deserve it. Take care of yourself.”

Dumbstruck, she watched me walk out of the doors into the blustery wind. Once inside my car, a tear started to well up in my eye. I smiled as I thought, I pray for God to send angels for my girls every night, but today I got to be someone else’s angel.