The Gift of Belonging

It was almost closing time as I placed my grocery items on the belt. 
I noticed a man with Downes syndrome doing the packing as the things were passed down by the cashier. He looked tired but was working with care and concentration. I recognized him--and as he raised his head, he knew me, too. 
He asked how I was--and how Paul was, and we chatted briefly. That's when it got a little funny.
"Do you know who this is?" he asked the bemused cashier, who said, "No."
"She's a leader with Christian Horizons," he said as if that explained everything.
That was the organization I'd worked for, for 32 years, but I've been retired for almost 4 and pointed that out to the young woman. I felt that I'd just been given undeserved honour, and yet his words fell like a warm cloak over my shoulders. That he spoke them meant everything to me because I felt that to him, I still belong.
😎 Anyway, I'm allowing myself to feel a little like a rock star--just for tonight.

Comments

arils and castles said…
You will always belong in my heart! You are certainly a rock star in my eyes!
8:47 PM
Belinda said…
The gift of belonging, twice in one week! Thank you, dear friend.:)
9:22 PM
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