The older and the youNGER

I took an extended lunch break today for an underarm wax appointment. This is something I have started doing in the past four years. I decided to try it once, and now I have a hard time going back to shaving. It’s one less thing I have to deal with in the shower. When I want to trim the fat in expenses, sure, I’ll forego the luxury. But this is an occasional service I give myself every few weeks, and the quick discomfort is far outweighed by the convenience.

Every esthetician I have gone to, including the one I currently use, is young enough to be my daughter. The age gap is something I finally came to terms with at work, when every group of new officers get younger and younger. And now, I take age into account every time I venture out. Not to be judgy, but in the use of my metaphors, slang phrases, etc. so I can actually communicate with people I encounter. And because I’m in my 50s – right in the middle of the young’uns and the “older people,” there’s a 50/50 chance of making the wrong generational choice. LOL

Brooke is a warm and friendly young woman, so it was easy to strike up conversation with her the first time I met her. You’d naturally want this in a beautician, but sometimes you find special people you can actually connect with, and Brooke is one of those people. We have discussed our shared faith, similar losses, similar family struggles, people we mutually know and all things superficial. We have gone deep enough to where we genuinely care enough to ask follow-up questions. I may have shared about a particular struggle at one appointment, and she asks how things are going with it at the next one. And vice versa.

Today was no different, and I left a satisfied customer and a smile on my face. And warmth in my heart. Not every contact in your realm shows up this way in your life, and it’s a rare treat when he or she takes that form in a professional setting or service industry. So I truly treasure those connections and look forward to the next times. I very blessed in that I get to meet with this particular person regularly.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11