Small Town Connections

It was less than a week before Christmas and I was on the hunt. I scrolled through the online classifieds again, looking for a gently used washer and dryer. Mine were barely running. Which was ridiculous, really. I had only used them to run 2-3 loads per day for the last 13 years... Was nothing made to last anymore?

Oooh, there was a nice set, only a couple years old! The asking price was considerably higher than my meager budget would allow, but sometimes there was room to negotiate. It couldn't hurt to ask. I sent a message and waited for the reply. The response came quickly.

"Merry Christmas to you and your family! I totally understand hard times. I will accept your offer."

Wait. What? That was a yes?

A grin slowly spread over my face. Truly, in the grand scheme of things, failing laundry appliances are not so terrible, but in my day to day grind it certainly made things more difficult. A fully functioning laundry was one less thing to worry about. Yay!

That following day we went to pick up the appliances. Matt and Brendan loaded the machines into our van while the lady and I visited. She was really a very sweet person. I was delighted to find how much we held in common. We spoke about raising teenage boys, and we discovered we had mutual friends. How nice! Then she asked exactly where we lived. As I described our place a look came over her face.

"Do you mean you live on the big white house on the hill?"

So, she knew the one. "Yes," I replied, pleased I'd described the location well enough.

"That was my Aunt Emma's house!"

I had heard stories of Emma. She was our favorite neighbor's mom. I had heard what a faith-filled, prayerful woman she was. I'd heard how she loved the house in which we now lived, how she loved cooking, and gardening and how she was a sweetheart. It had always made me happy we lived in the former home of such a dear woman. And here I was speaking with Emma's niece (probably great-niece) about Emma's favorite view from our dining room window and about the yummy food she made out of our kitchen. This lady and I had met as strangers making a transaction. We left more as friends with a lovely connection.

We wished her and her family a very merry Christmas and headed home. I couldn't stop smiling.

I love small towns.