I was walking the aisles of IKEA today when I saw something that made my eyes tear up.
A man carrying ice cream cones.
That sounds like a pretty lame thing to make me cry, but let me explain. The man looked to be about 65 years old. He was balding and the hair that he had left was whitish gray. He had glasses perched low on his nose and he was slightly stooped over as he walked. In one hand he had two soft serve vanilla cones. They were both dripping down his hand and onto the sleeve of his button up shirt. In his other hand was a cell phone. As I slowed down to watch him out of the corner of my eye I heard him calmly and patiently ask, “Now, where are you honey?” IKEA is not a fun place to get lost and I would imagine it would be especially miserable with ice cream dripping down your arm.
That could have been my dad and that is what got me a smidge emotional. (darn sensitivity genes!) I could just imagine that was my mom and dad trying to find each other in a large confusing store, with their phones to their ears and ice cream dripping down my dad’s arm (it probably HAS happened to them!). It was sweet, and it made me thankful that I have that kind of dad that has endless patience and thoughtfulness and a heart focused to serving those he loves.
Whims 