Pennies from Heaven

So on our day off Monday we decided we needed to get out of the house. More importantly, we needed to get the baby out of the house. We figured the mall - with its endless sidewalks and dinosaur playland - would be the perfect spot.

After we spent some time exchanging germs with dozens of sniffling toddlers and a Brontosaurus cast in a strangely unnatural soft-plastic pose, we took off. Em made a beeline toward the rubber duckies at Bath & Body Works. In order to distract her, we turned her toward the fountain. She marched straight up to two little old grannies who were deep in conversation, looked straight up at them and said, "Hi." Then she stood there and stared up at them. Of course they thought she was adorable, because they were SMART little old grannies. And if anyone can recognize adorable, it's a granny.

Canon found some pennies and we showed Em how to pitch them into the fountain. We cheered with each tiny splash, and then spent some time looking at the glittering wishes that lined the bottom of the reflecting pool. Just as we were leaving, one of the grannies walked up to us to tell us how much she enjoyed Em, and asked what her name was. When we told her Em's full name, she practically melted into a puddle of goo right there on the mall floor. "That was my mother's name," she said. It's kind of an old-fashioned name, and I'm guessing it's been a while since she'd run into someone who shared it. The granny was positively glowing as she opened her purse and handed me a fistfull of pennies. She insisted we take them and let the baby throw them in the fountain.

As we tossed pennies and celebrated splashes, me with tears in my eyes, the old woman walked away with a faraway look in her eyes and an odd smile on her face. I hope it was a happy one.