10.16.06
A Pretty Green Dress
by Greg EnglandI was headed toward Best Buy on Sunday afternoon but first ran by the
Credit Union to deposit a check into my daughter’s account. As I was
walking away from the night deposit, she was walking toward me. Just
the two of us. I first noticed her very pretty and sharp outfit. Shades
of green. Nice skirt. White blouse. Dressy coat. Scarf that pulled
everything together. I don’t know if she’d been "to church" that
morning, but she looked like she had. And she looked like someone who
would "go to church" on a Sunday.
As we crossed paths, she never even glanced my way but I noticed her face. Well weathered. Years of wisdom. Grandmother written all over it. I wanted to say something about how pretty she looked in her outfit, but she never so much as glanced up. I’m learning as I approach her age it’s better to watch where your feet are than anything much further ahead, so I didn’t distract her careful pace. I walked on to my car and she walked on the ATM machines.
I decided I really did want to say something to her about her dress, so I timed my exit from the parking lot (allowing two other cars to go ahead of me) so that she would cross in front of my car. As she did, I rolled down the window and said, "Excuse me, Ma’am, but has anyone told you how pretty you look in that dress today?" She looked up at me, somewhat cautious, and said, "Why, no, they haven’t." I said, "Well, someone should have, because you look really pretty today."
Her face exploded into a smile. I drove on … just wanted to say that to her for some reason. It sure made my day to see her smile. Next time she dresses in her "Sunday best," I hope there is someone in her life to tell her just how pretty she looks.