Inside Sunshine

I arrived early at the Yard Sale on the grounds of St. Michael's Parish, where things were already bustling inside with busy customers and Linda pricing items that were brought in today. She was to be the cashier and because breakfast became a floor item, we sent John out to buy food before we resorted to pastry.

It was pouring and dark. The only way not to get soaked was to make a dash from the car. Luckily, there was a continuous stream of people coming through the door. The only problem was the door was left open constantly. I quickly became a multi-tasker initially, to close the door, as the heat was on, and to benefit those who checked out the items. The floor became wet at the entrance, which was not too good for people with canes, so out came the mop. (Not anything I'm not familiar with). That was to no avail, as the floor would not dry. I came up with the resolution of laying newspaper covered with paper bags to absorb the water. Luckily, it did the trick, and it was funny at that, watching people automatically wipe their feet before entering. New England folk are used to wearing boots six months of the year. Often, we placed newspaper at the door, and as it dryed we would turn it over to reuse.

It was fun greeting people as they came in, sharing their enthusiasm in finding something to take back, to brighten their day. At the same time, many sat and shared pastry and coffee with friends. People asked me questions, like if we were serving lunch and at what time. I presold our next event, the Turkey Party and Spaghetti Feed and thanked them for stopping by, inviting them to have a nice day. I was a door facilitator, floor mopper, greeter, and general informer for shoppers and the daily news, and managed to find a few trinkets for myself and family. (All and all it was a good day).

Standing there I observed something that I took home with me. On one side of the door was sunshine, and all that spoke of a bright and happy fall, with happy people inside enjoying themselves, while just beyond the threshold, on the other side was darkness and misery. And all you had to do was enter in. Enter in or stay out in the cold. Sounds like there is a lesson to be learned here.