Warning: Impending Corniness!

I went to the grocery store last week to pick up ingredients for Thanksgiving pies. Weaving in and out of the crowds, dodging carts and couples attempting to converse across entire aisles, I noticed the same things piled up in everyone's shopping carts. Loaves and loaves of stuffing bread, cans of pie filling, pre-made pie crusts, enough cans of green beans to feed a small army. And as I passed each one, I started to smile.

Kermit the Frog said, in "A Muppet Family Christmas," that "Life would just pass in a blur if it weren't for times like this." The fictional amphibian was right. Here was what looked like half the city, bustling through the store, collecting things that they would take home and turn into delicious things to share with their loved ones. It was enough to make me, who normally despises crowds, actually enjoy trying to navigate through the packed store.

And when I got to the front, every open register had a long line in front of it. So much so that people would approach the lines, look puzzled for a moment, and then start asking other people, "Which line are you in?" This would then lead to three to six people telling each other which register they were waiting for.

"I'm behind her. Waiting for number four."
"I'm in the line for number three."
"And this is the line for number five."

Doesn't sound too amazing, but check this out: They weren't yelling! They weren't grumbling or complaining or pushing. They were being so nice to each other! Even when someone in the self-checkout line had no idea how to use it and ended up stalling the whole line for about five minutes while she kept calling the clerk over. Sure, people were rolling their eyes and tapping their feet, but we were all smiling and joking with each other as we did it.

Perhaps a pod of Canadian body-snatchers had come in and taken over, but I really think it's more likely that they were just happy it was a holiday. Maybe they even realized that all the people around them were doing the same thing, and it made them feel like an actual community. It was actually really lovely to be a part of it.

I think with all that's been going on in the world, we really NEED the holidays this year. Of course, that's just my humble opinion and guess... but whatever the reason, I'll take it.