glimpses of humanity at the bank

I had to do some paperwork at the bank this morning and get something notarized. Basically, you show up, whoever's available authorizes your signature, and there's no charge. It's easy. Today, there was no line and the woman who helped me seemed really nice. I asked her if she had nice plans for the holidays. She told me that she's taking her entire family on a Disney cruise, which she sounded really excited about. (yawn, I know).

But she kept talking. She said that her husband died last year of pancreatic cancer on Dec 30. She wanted to be somewhere "safe and warm and loving" and thought up the cruise idea, which her children (all grown, with children of their own) were enthusiastic about. We talked about what a sneaky beast grief is and how she worries about whether she let her husband know how much she appreciated him and wonders whether she said and did all the right things. I told her she seemed like a very warm person and I suspected she did let him know how much she appreciated him.

It's so odd to dash off for an annoying errand, only to have things turn suddenly human. That woman made my day; I hope I was able to add some warmth to hers.