This interaction amused me.
I was on my way out to get the mail this morning, when I saw that there was a small garage sale being set up across the street. I typically don't have a lot of time for garage sales these days, but this particular sale had a cute bassinet, a matching swing and a little baby seat for sale and since I am eagerly anticipating the birth of a granddaughter any day now, I wanted to check it out. I walked to the sale and asked the woman there if she was the one selling those three particular items, but she told me she had just purchased them...for $1 each! Wow - what a sale! Then I noticed that the woman who bought them was great with child, AND had a toddler in tow. Because of her "condition" I found it a little bit easier to release the fact that I had just missed an amazing deal!
Jessica, the purchaser of these three items is two weeks past her due date. She's having a baby boy and planning to be induced in two days at Wyoming County Community Hospital. Her first son (the toddler with her) was born after an extremely short labor so I was surprised her doctor would let her go two whole weeks past her due date without inducing her earlier.
Jessica works at the McDonald's in Batavia, so the plan, as she described it to me, is to have her mother watch her two children while Jessica's working. That's why she was purchasing these particular items from the garage sale - so her mom would have a few necessary baby items that could be kept at her house. I told Jessica I was happy to have met her, and told her I'd be praying for a soon and safe delivery.
Later this afternoon, I drove to Varysburg to pick up my boys from working at summer camp when I saw a very small yard sale of baby items. In fact, there was a cute bassinet, a matching baby swing and a little baby seat. So I pulled over to check out these items but couldn't locate any prices so I looked up to see if I could find the seller and there she was: Jessica! Then I recalled she told me she was from Varysburg earlier, but I never expected to run into her later on the same day. She seemed to act like she was "caught" reselling items she had purchased earlier today. She felt the need to explain to me that she was rethinking her plan to go back to work and have grandma watch the kids - and was thinking perhaps she should be a stay-at-home mom. She also seemed to want me to believe that the items she was selling at her sale, were not the very same items she purchased earlier today. She said she kept those newly acquired items, and was now selling very similar baby furniture at her sale. When I asked her how much she was selling her baby furniture for I was surprised to hear her answer in light of the fact that I knew she'd spent $1 on each item. Her prices were $30 for the bassinet, $20 for the baby swing and I believe $20 for the little baby seat. Wow - that's quite a profit!
Throughout this experience of connecting with strangers, I have found that sometimes it has been worth a few dollars investment to purchase someone's fruits, vegetables or yard sale items in order to facilitate a stranger interaction, however I draw the limit at spending $70 for items that were valued at $3 just hours earlier! :) It was definitely an interesting, slightly awkward but completely amusing stranger interaction!
Lord Jesus, bless Jessica and her little baby waiting to be born this weekend. Please keep them safe, but more than that, reveal Your love to Jessica so that she might be drawn into relationship with YOU!
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