I finished up my shopping at the grocery store, quickly chose a checkout line, and started unloading items from my cart onto the moving belt. As usual I was rushing, in between drop-off and pick-up with the kids’ sports. From the corner of my eye I noticed that the cashier’s ear looked misshapen, the soft tissue pressed up against his head and the opening folded over in a way that he probably was unable to hear out of it. He wore a wedding ring, but was young—early twenties I’d guess. Continuing to unload, I found one of my yogurts was open, set it aside, and then picked up a loaf of bread, which felt hard as I squeezed it. “Huh, expired,” I said to myself on checking the date. I handed the two items to the cashier saying, “I’m sorry to be a pain, but I’m not going to get these.” He took my things and said, “You’re not a pain. You’re a blessing.” “Excuse me?” I said, thinking that I heard what he said, but wasn’t entirely sure. “I said that you’re a blessing. Hasn’t anyone ever told you you’re a blessing before?” I was quiet for a moment, trying to gather a concise response when he said, “Maybe just not at the market, right?” “Yeah, that’s right,” I said as I smiled, thinking of Noelle as we often have this conversation. I thanked him as he handed me my receipt and shifted my eyes to the nametag on his store-branded polo shirt. “Angel,” it said. I took a deep breath and my smile widened, as I pushed my cart out of the store and into the parking lot. As it happens, I’ve met lots of angels when I least expect to. How about you? xo Angela http://blog.justcate.com/ http://www.justcate.com/