I could tell...

...she was worn out by her shopping trip. 




I estimated the woman in line ahead of me at the cash register was in her 80's.  Her clothes were not fashionable, but were clean and pressed.  She wore a simple gold band on her left hand.  Is he still alive, I wondered?  Her hands were shaking and her back was bent with the years.  She was struggling with taking things out of her cart and setting them on the counter.  I knew she would struggle even more to have to take her groceries home and put them away and I hoped there would be someone there to help her.  I felt compassion for her...




...so I stepped around my cart and started helping her.




"Thank you", she said, as I picked up her jar of jam.




"Apricot", I said.  "My mother's favorite".




"My mother used to make apricot jam every spring", she said, smiling.




I pick up a box of oatmeal and ask, "How long has she been gone"?




"Over twenty years now", was her reply.




"Do you still miss her?", I asked.




"Everyday", she said, "Everyday".




Yes...I thought




...everyday.