A Bit of Home

This story may not mean anything to some of you, but it will to a few. I am very excited to be going home NEXT WEEK for Christmas, but I was also feeling a bit sad that I missed Thanksgiving with my family. I didn't realize this, until the other day.

I was in Starbucks having a hot chocolate while Kelsey slept in her stroller. I had a small break before my German lessons started. I sat down, and looked up when I heard two women speaking English. These were two strangers, yet they looked so similar to my high-school friends Tammy & Morgan's moms who probably to this day, still sit in our local coffee shop and chat. There was a shorter, round woman with white chin-length hair and glasses talking to a tall, brown, chin-length haired woman with glasses. Even their mannerisms reminded me of Sue and Carol.

I could not wipe the grin off my face as I sat there thinking about the coincidence and how rare it was that I would stop in this Starbucks of all places, and how people are different and yet the same all over the world. I got a very warm feeling inside and as I closed my eyes, I felt like I was at home. I could smell it, feel it, taste it, hear it and almost SEE it. So after I finished my hot chocolate, I went over to these wonderful American women and told them how they brightened my day. As the words fell out of my mouth, so did a few tears. I told them how they made me feel home and described a bit about why. They were warm and friendly and had I not had German lessons to get to, I'm sure I would have sat down, chatted, and ended up giving them huge hugs afterwards.

It was small, but it was for me. A tender mercy. A bit of home.