Alegria para el mundo

I wish you could have seen her sweet face as she stood there in a driveway, not her own, her outstretched arms holding a freshly baked loaf of bread, still steaming in it's plastic bag.  Her smile was angelic and her eyes clear and sparkling.

I stopped mid run, sweaty from the unusual humidity and my unusually fast (for me) pace.  

"Joy to the world" I said.  "So happy to see you"  What are you doing here?"

I knew this was not her house.

I have gotten to know this beautiful lady on my runs.  I usually meet her in the same place on my route and always stop to say hello.  She walks with a fast purposeful gait, her walker in front of her.  She says she doesn't need it but her husband, worried that she will fall, insists she take it.  

"I take it so he doesn't worry" she once told me.

Some days she tells me she is 76 and other days she claims 83 years.  I am not sure how old she really is and maybe she isn't either.   It doesn't matter to either to us.  She always has a smile and just seems to emit positive energy.  I always feel energized after I see her.  Her name is Joy and I always call her "Joy to the world"

On this day, she has no walker and she is standing there in someone else's driveway with that loaf of bread.  

"I am looking for someone who will take a loaf of bread," she said, answering my question.  I  baked 6 loaves and I don't need them all".

She held out the loaf to me - holding it in both hands, arms outstretched.

"I would love it",   I said.

Her smile got brighter and she reached both arms and the bread out to me.   It seemed like a blessing or something almost sacred.

I smiled and took it.  I hugged her and said "Thank you my friend"

"I love you" she said.

As if it were the most natural interaction in the world, she turned and walked up the street to her house.

I ran  the last two miles  carrying a loaf of bread, balancing it on one arm and then switching to the other.

My runs have offered me some surprise moments, moments of humanity and kindness, slices of life.

Today it was a freshly baked loaf of bread.

And Joy to the world.