This morning we made a short stop at a supermarket we don't normally go to

And I saw Best.

 

Best is a young Nigerian man who always stood at the minimarket near our old house. He bagged groceries and /or brought them to your car or even your home in change for some change.

We've talked a couple of times in the past, we've helped each other out.

 

I spotted him right away and was happy to see him, I'd wondered how he'd been.

But then I thought 

'who knows if he'll recognize me? It's been more than 2 years, I'm probably just a white face amongst hundreds of white faces.'

 

But

from 10 meters away, he started waving and yelled 'Ciao Clara, where have you been? You have disappeared!'

I explained I live somewhere else now, he told he's been working on Sicily all summer, installing solar panels and now was back just for a week.

And it was like seeing an old friend again

And I'm so happy he's actually having a job now (though they undoubtedly pay peanuts)

and when I got in the car the Lion King shook his head in fake despair and said 'immigrants and beggars, they all love you'.

 

And when we got home from groceries and I was carrying all the bags and packs of water from the car to the elevator,

the man of the cleaning services of our condo stopped and helped me carry because

'it's the least I can do'.

 

 

And all this to say:

be kind.

My day had started badly,

most of my days are pretty shitty really,

I do my best to fight it,

but I feel like I'm really failing as wife of a cancer patient.

 

And the fact that Best was so happy to see me

and that the cleaning man helped me with the groceries ...

It just made my whole day lighter and brighter.

 

So. 

Be kind to the people you meet.

Be kind.

 

Clara