ROLE REVERSAL???

MEGAPHONE 2016

I spent last weekend in Fayetteville at the Arkansas Women Bloggers’ Megaphone 2016 conference. It was my third conference in a month, but I didn’t want to miss it. It turned out to be time well spent.

I drove up on Thursday to spend some time with friends Talya and John. Consequently, I got to help get ready for the Foodie Friday event at Pratt Place Inn. (I’ll tell you more about that day and the beautiful setting in an upcoming post.)

 

As is my habit when I’m in Fayetteville, I called my grandson, Josh, who’s a graduate student at the U of A to see if we could get together. Josh is good about making time to see me, and we made a date to meet at Hugo’s the first evening.

 

 

 

THANK HEAVEN FOR GPS

I haven’t spent enough time in Fayetteville to know my way around, so I when I started to Hugo’s, I plugged the address into my GPS and headed to town. When I got to the block indicated on the screen, I slid into an empty parking place and looked around. But I didn’t see a Hugo’s sign.

FAYETTEVILLE HOSPITALITY

About that time, a man came out of a store toward the car next to me, so I rolled down my window and asked if he could tell me where Hugo’s was. He pointed a couple of storefronts down and said, “Right down there. It’s why I bought this place 25 years ago.”

Before I made it out of my car, he began putting coins in my parking meter. When I thanked him, he insisted I come inside the store to look around. I explained I had five minutes before I was to meet Josh and followed him into The French Quarters & Feather Your Nest. Oh, my! It is a beautiful place run by Chris Bronson and my guide, Storm Carr. Need a decorator? Drop by their place.

 

Once inside, I told them what had brought me to town and asked if I could take pictures. They didn’t seem to mind, so I snapped lots of shots as I walked through the store.

When I said I needed to go, he insisted that first I HAD to sit in one of their beautiful down-cushioned chairs. If we hadn’t been interrupted, I have a feeling this charming salesman would have made me believe I HAD to take one of those beauties home with me. (As if I had space for one more chair! But that fabric would fit perfectly in our bedroom.)

SAVED BY THE RINGTONE

However, just as I sat down, my phone began to ring, making me realize I was late for my dinner date. Sure enough, it was Josh calling to check to see if I had gotten lost. I told him where I was and that I’d be right there. Then I hung up, said my goodbyes, and hurried down to Hugo’s where Josh and Grace were waiting.

GRANNAPPED?

Once I was seated, Josh told me they had seen me park and had watched the man feed my parking meter. Consequently, they expected me to join them inside shortly. When I didn’t show up, they were puzzled and although they didn’t say so, maybe a bit concerned. Where did Gran get off to????

We laughed about it and I apologized for making them wait. Then we settled down to our tasty dinners. Before I knew it, it was time to go, so we went on our separate ways.

Later as I smiled over the incident, I remembered the flash of anxiety I’d felt from time to time when I lost track of a young child, as well as the times I’d worried about my aging parents and in-laws. Even as I hoped Josh didn’t feel that kind of concern, I must admit it was nice to be checked on.

I don’t believe Josh and Grace consider me ancient, but I realize when I was their age, I thought folks like me were pretty old. They were too gracious to let on if they did. At the end of the day, I felt blessed by their concern and their superb company at dinner.

When I think of each of my grandchildren, I realize that I am abundantly blessed, indeed!

I hope you are, too.

Do you have a funny role reversal story? I’d love to hear it.

Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift? 

Ps. 127:3