The Way It Should Be Done

Today we had a substantial rain storm right before it was time to go home.  By the time I cleared my desk and quickly wrote a check for a bill I wanted to mail on the way home, it had slowed down quite a bit.  While waiting at a light after leaving the Colonial Williamsburg post office, I observed an elderly couple walking up the street close by….maybe heading back to their hotel or motel.  I couldn’t help but think that isn’t the way it should be done.

The gentleman was walking ahead of the woman….he didn’t look happy, like he was inconvenienced by the rain.  He was walking under an umbrella as he hurried down the street, but he wasn’t sharing it with the woman.  She was hurrying to keep up with him, clutching her handbag to her body in an attempt to keep it dry.  She wore a large rain hat but didn’t have a raincoat on.  He turned at one point and spoke to her before resuming his brisk walk up the street with a scowl on his face.  She picked up her pace a bit but was unable to catch up enough to share the umbrella.  And I thought….that isn’t the way it should be done.

I thought maybe they were on vacation…..maybe the rain was an inconvenience….but maybe it could be a light moment.  The rain was cool and refreshing…it wasn’t pouring.  I thought he should have one arm around her shoulder as he pulled her close to him….under the umbrella he held in his other hand….and they should be smiling, or laughing….talking about their day.  I thought…that is the way it should be done.