Finding Joy In The Parking Lot

Sometimes it’s possible to have a good time even when you’re in a very mundane place – like a Big Box Superstore parking lot.

Have you noticed that so many of the people shopping have somewhat of a grimace on their face? I’m not here to throw stones at them, because goodness knows we all have things going on in our lives. But what I AM here to say is that it’s possible to bring joy to others in the most ordinary of places.

We had finished our Big Box Superstore shopping trip and were high stepping it out to the car to load our goods before the rain started. Our normal routine is to load, then I take the cart to the corral while Keith starts the car and gets the a/c going.

Since we had just finished having a great laughing conversation with the checkout clerk that mood carried us on to the parking lot. As I turned around from corralling my cart I noticed a woman heading my way, though with a bit of a frown on her face, about 4 car lengths away.

My sillies took over – I crouched down, patted the top of my thighs, held out my hands and hollered “Let ‘er rip!”

She stopped and looked stunned for a minute, then grinned and said “Seriously?”

“Yep,” I said, with a bit of a wiggle in my fingers.

She said “OK!” with a big grin, then yelled “WHOA!” and gave it a shove.

We both threw our heads back laughing, I caught the cart and put it away and started walking back. She had started walking towards me, still laughing, and said “Thank you for such a wonderful laugh.”

I got in the car with Keith, who had seen the whole thing and was laughing. As we passed her parked car we could see her on the phone laughing and talking.

Joy in the Parking Lot – it can be a beautiful thing.

* photo credit Robert Couse-Baker on Flickr