My date with an 88 year old man

This was unlike any other day. I didn’t have to work like I normally would and I had time to do whatever I wanted. The hardest part in this-I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

I knew I had to take my motorbike into the mechanic, but beyond that, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

I tried to sleep in….key word being tried

I cleaned my apartment-like really cleaned it

I then took my bike in to the shop. They said it would take an hour. What was I going to do?

I walked around.

I found a sweet old lady selling some traditional clothes. We had a great conversation and she shared that she so deeply desires to speak to her foreign customers, but doesn’t know how. I went over each item in her store and helped her practice how to say each item. She couldn’t stop smiling! She was given a small key to begin communicating to her future friends.

I continued my journey down a path that is rarely explored. I found 2 elderly men listening to the radio. They call out “Hello. How are you?” I responded “Hello, I am good and how are you?” We chatted briefly and as I began to walk away…one man shares to the other “Isn’t she lovely? She is beautiful.” I smiled and thanked God for that sweet moment.

I kept exploring on this small alleyway and kept crossing the paths of older people. One was a lady who crochets and sells her handmade items. We talked about techniques and what we like making. I pulled out my phone and shared some pictures of items I have made. We talked easily for 30 minutes and could have stayed longer-she even invited me in to crochet!

It was then that my planned out day was going to change for the good.

I was very aware that I only had about 15 minutes until my bike was ready, but this 88 year old man calls out to me and pulls out a chair for me to sit on.

I sat in the chair and we began to share. It started out pretty typical, then we began to share pieces of our hearts with one another. He loved what I was doing to help the Thai people and encouraged me to keep doing it, even when other people may not understand (volunteering and having joy vs. making a lot of money and not)

A lot of time passed, we took pictures to remember the moment. Then as I was getting ready to leave he said “Have you eaten yet?” He took to me lunch. It was a 2 minute walk away, but one that took 25 minutes to get there as his feet were not aligned and he walked with a limp. You could tell he visits here often. He was greeted very warmly and he was right at home.

Later he insisted on getting me a vitamin drink. “Growing girls need vitamins.” So we went on another adventure to find a vitamin drink.

It was a very simple day. He often would say “calm down”, which reminded me to take a deep breath and be in the moment and not focused on my watch. He did everything very slowly, but that was ok. I sat there with him and walked with him wherever he wanted to go-and I was blessed by it all.

He treated me to everything (I tried to pay, but that didn’t work…).

I wonder how much I have missed going from one task to another. People are beautiful and have some cool stories that are waiting to be shared, but rarely ever get the chance to share them.

This holiday season, may you slow down and focus on the people around you. The perfect gift is not as important as the people that surround you.