Counting my Blessings in the Pharmacy

The other day I went to the local pharmacy to get some soap bars and mascara. On the way to checkout I picked a birthday card for a friend, and the newspaper. Just then I was greeted by an acquaintance of mine who peered into my cart and made a comment that stayed with me for a long time afterwards.

“So you came into the pharmacy to buy soap and mascara and the newspaper?” she inquired.

“Yeah...?” I replied, not quite sure where she was going with this.

“Lucky you,” she said. “I’m here to get painkillers and antibiotics.”

On the way home I reflected on our little conversation. There was something meaningful in it. Yes, she was right. Lucky me, indeed.

That evening I watched the news and there were two articles that caught my attention and reminded me of that chat. The first was about the wildfires raging in Australia. I looked out the window at the snow falling blessedly from the sky. It sure puts the backbreaking task of shoveling our driveway into a new perspective, I thought with relief.

The second was about a flood somewhere down south, which had turned the affected town into total mayhem and had cost several lives. The images were devastating.

Phew, we live uphill. What a blessing, too.

Next time I march to the pharmacy, downhill in the snow, to get a shampoo and a conditioner and possibly a lipstick, I will consider myself truly blessed.

By Didi Gorman