Meeting Sarah

I went to Walgreen's for my flu shot yesterday and met 94-year-old Sarah.  She was waiting in a chair at the pharmacy after being told she would have to stand in line to receive her paperwork.  The line, it turned out, was for prescription drop-off, and it was long!  When I asked her about the flu shot process, she said she guessed we had to wait our turn in that long line, and she just couldn't stand that long.

Long story short:  I felt sorry for this little elderly lady and told her I'd see what I could do.  Folks in the line overheard us talking about just needing flu shot paperwork, and kindly invited us to step in front of them, so we did.  She commented to me that this would probably be her last flu shot.  When I asked why, she said that for the first time in her life, she was having difficulty doing the things she'd always done, and she feared her health was failing. She seemed quite resigned.

While we waited, both in line and eventually in our chairs, we learned we were both "Sarahs", and that we both indeed had the much-needed "h" at the end of our names. I learned that she was 94 years old, the youngest of 7 children, with a current family of 81 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren (she maintains a list of them to keep up with the growing numbers).  

She was married for many years and her husband died; then she re-married and her second husband died of a heart attack after only three years of marriage.  She was "only" 60, and decided to move to Lubbock to be close to her youngest son.  And, she's been here ever since. She is still living independently, drives her car, and keeps her mind active with word puzzles and television.  

By the time we parted with a hug and a "see you later", that "poor little old woman" who looked so weak and helpless when I first saw her sitting in the Walgreen's pharmacy waiting area, had come alive and had shared her life with me...and, I think, got to remember again who she really is.  It would be so easy to become less than we are.  Connecting with someone else lets us be our whole selves. 

It was a pain to have to wait an hour for a flu shot, but I wouldn't have missed meeting Sarah.  Somehow, as I told her, I think our paths will cross again.