Hello and good day!
A young married couple walked into our chocolate shop yesterday. I see them every month or so and we've become friends over the last year.
"Hey guys! How's it going?" I asked.
"Going great," said the husband.
"What's new?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said. "Is it a good thing or a bad thing that nothing new is going on?" "You know what they say. No news is good news."
No news is good news has always struck me as a peculiar statement.
Is it true? The implication is that any news you receive is bound to be bad.
I figured I could flesh it out with my friend right then and there.
"Hey, what do you think about the expression no news is good news? Is it true?" I asked.
He gave me a wise and knowing nod. He clearly had a position on this subject.
"Think about an average day. You know from the beginning what you want to accomplish. Almost anything unexpected that comes up will derail your plans. No news is good news because it means a lack of friction."
I instinctively liked his point of view, and I told him so.
He'd obviously thought more about it than I had, so I let his position carry the day with no pushback. My friends shopped and checked out.
I thanked them sincerely and profusely for their continued business and they went on their way.
An hour later, I was standing in front of a grocery store with my Free Hot Chocolate sign. It was cold and clear.
The trees were grey and bare, the sky blue with thin wispy clouds dragging over mountain ridges in the distance. My breath floated away in condensed dewy puffs when I breathed out.
I heard a familiar voice. "Hey Adam!" I hadn't seen this young woman in a while.
I've written about her before, but I don't know how long ago it was. There was a time when I was deeply concerned about her wellbeing.
She was well known in our shopping center for walking through while pushing her young daughter in a stroller, and shouting hello exuberantly to all the folks who work there. We all shouted back and waved.
It was fun and uplifting and she became a bright point in everybody's day. Then she disappeared for several months and when she showed up again, she was rail thin. I asked her how she'd been, and she told me that she'd been sick.
She revealed to me that she has kidney problems and is supposed to be on dialysis. She then told me that she gave up her treatment for a stretch because her mental demons had been tormenting her.
She explained to me that her parents abandoned her as a little girl, and she grew up in foster homes. Voices in her head told her that she wasn't worth a damn. Sometimes she believed them. When that happened, she fell into self-destruction.
I wrote about this conversation the day after it happened.
Thankfully, at that time, she told me that she'd begun dialysis again and was on the mend after fighting off her demons.
Yesterday, she looked healthy and vibrant. She has put on weight. She flashed a big, strong smile and her eyes were shining. But she wasn't pushing the stroller with her little girl in it.
"You don't have your daughter today?" I asked.
"She's coming."
When she said that, she smiled an almost sheepish smile, and touched her face. I saw a rock on her finger.
"Did you get engaged?" I asked.
"Mmmm hmmmm," she said. She laughed a hearty open-mouthed laugh and clapped with excitement.
"Oh, my goodness! Congratulations!" I said, almost in a shout.
"Can you believe it? Here he comes!"Sure enough, the fellow came walking up carrying the little girl who will soon be his stepdaughter.
I'm not an expert at too many things in this world.
I know about good chocolate.
I studied economics as a hobby for a long time.
iI've been a business owner for 15 years, so I know about that.
Maybe the only other thing that I understand thoroughly is dudes.
I'm a dude's dude. Always have been.
I spent my entire childhood and adolescence running with groups of dudes and I have three sons. I was never much of a lady's man.
I only had one real girlfriend prior to getting married at age 21 and that relationship only lasted for a couple of months.
I don't have any sisters. But dudes I know.
I eyeballed this dude and immediately I could see that he was a good man.Not only that, but everything about his vibe seemed to fit well with the situation he was in.
"Nice to meet you," I said.
"Nice to meet you too. You own the chocolate shop?"
"Yes sir."
"I've heard about your place. We're coming in after we finish here. I promised this little girl I'd get her a treat."
The three-year-old girl was sitting in one of his strong arms and she snuggled into his neck.
"We'll be there, and we'll look forward to it," I said.
I wasn't there when they came by later. I'd already left for home.
Next time I see my buddy and his wife, I'll have to let them know that his theory about no news being good news doesn't always hold up.
Sometimes surprises work out swimmingly.
A sweet young woman stops dialysis because the voices in her head tell her she is better off dead. She fights back against her dark side and keeps on living. She falls in love and finds a good man to be the stepfather for her young daughter.
We run into each other by chance, and she shares the news with me.
My plan for that hour was to stand in front of a grocery store with a sign while waving at people. I would have been perfectly happy if my plan had gone off without a hitch.
In the end, the hitch turned out to be much better than the plan.
Thank you so much for time today.
I hope that you have a truly blessed day!
Adam
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