Tuesday, January 12, 2010

belated holiday cheer

I know it's a little late, but maybe I'll come back and read this next year and enjoy it.

The Saturday before Christmas Kevin and I were running errands like mad before we headed out to his parents' house for dinner. When we got to the post office where I needed to buy various denominations of postage stamps, there was a line just to park. Kevin left me there so he could dash off to do some more shopping while I waited to buy stamps.

After about 45 minutes of standing in line, I finally entered the actual office part of the stuffy P.O. and was feeling a little hopeful to be able to see the clerks. A few minutes later, a woman several places in line behind me began humming loudly - the tune of What Child Is This? - with her eyes closed. It was a little odd, I thought, and it made me feel kind of uncomfortable. Her humming grew louder.

I wasn't sure what to think of this lady. On the one hand, there were all sorts of people at the post office who may not be celebrating Christmas like she was, and maybe they just wanted to mail something in peace. But on the other hand, when I considered how long I'd been waiting, it seemed unlikely that people might be so patient if they weren't sending cards and gifts to loved ones. So maybe I was just being too sensitive. But another part of me also thought she might be armed and dangerous.

Anyway, she then started to sing Silent Night out loud, and shortly thereafter a woman and her daughter joined in harmony with the first woman -- loudly, clearly, and perfectly tuned. It was lovely, actually. They laughed at the end, and continued with Jingle Bells, inviting others to join in.

And the next thing I knew, the 40 or so people crammed in the room with me were all singing and laughing together as we waited. The clerks seemed happy enough with it, and finally I reached the desk. The woman helping me said that she'd never seen anything like it happen before, but yelled out to the crowd that she'd been waiting for something like this!! I wanted to stay and listen for a while, since it had started to feel kind of like a Capra film, but needed to send out my greetings and hurry off. Outside people were honking horns and fighting over parking spots (I actually saw a woman get out of her car and bang on the driver-side window of someone who was blocking other drivers). But inside people were happy, singing, and enjoying something beautiful.