Two ladies in Line

Funny when you are so wrapped up in your own grief that strangers in line can cause you to pause for a moment and wonder about life for just a moment. Two older ladies stood in line in front of me at the Walmart Pharmacy tonight. In the 10 minutes I stood there I learned a great deal about them both. They chatted though it was obvious to this listener that they did not know each other well. The first lady's face I could see, care worn with smile lines around her eyes and mouth, showing her age at 66. (this she had shared with lady #2) Lady #2 standing before me I could not see, just her coat and the back of her head, but I listened just the same. She told the lady in front she had been dizzy recently, and as the conversation continued a myriad of information was shared about her life. Recently widowed, she had been married 48 years to the same man. When asked how her life mate had passed she said quietly, "At home, in my arms." Lady #1 expressed that it must have been a beautiful moment, and a good way to say good bye to someone who had been Lady #2's husband for almost half a century.

The continued to chat until both were called to the counter. I stood there, watching the people of Walmart pass around me, the impatient yet enthusiastic young, the frazzled mothers dragging a brood of children behind them, the grace filled elderly who had already lived those lives.
The circle of life at your local Walmart. And I wondered, wondered about my place in the grand scheme of things. Wondered if I had already served the purpose I was placed here for. Wondered if there was anything else I was supposed to do before moving on. Stuck on a ledge, not in any of those age ranges, wondering if this was it.