by Meredith Siegel Cohen, Creator, Single and Striking Out
I believe in “aha” moments. Call them what you will—touches, miracles, or lessons along the way—but sometimes we receive exactly what we need at exactly the right time. I picture my life as a road map with pushpins intentionally placed along the way by something bigger than me. Sometimes they make me smile. Sometimes they offer perspective. Whatever they are, they feel like more than happenstance.
I turned 55 last month, and I’ve been feeling it. I look in the mirror and see lines that are not quite so fine anymore–lines that weren’t there 10 years ago. My eyes look tired. The veins on my hands are more distinct, and I now have to color my hair due to some hairline greys that have made themselves at home. I’ve felt a deeper level of fatigue from all that I have to do, which certainly doesn’t help in the “feeling youthful” department. And it’s left me feeling aged. Not bad, but not great either. Sometimes I pass a store window or mirror and see a woman I don’t entirely recognize.
With the exception of my smile. It still shines bright. When I smile, I find her again.
On this particular day towards the end of last month, I was feeling a little “heavy.” Not in weight, but in thoughts. As I was gathering myself to leave for my weekend “to do’s,” I noticed my phone was acting wonky. The charge was draining fast and I couldn’t make calls out. Ugh, I knew what I had to do.
Go to the Verizon store.
I’m not a phone-lover. Just give me something that works and I’m good to go. Walking into the Verizon store invariably means I’m going to lose 3 hours of my day. (Sort of like going to Target for one thing and knowing you’re going to come out $100 poorer.) I do not relish the thought, as my time is at a premium.
Well, I had no choice. In I went, and began working with Franklin.
You need an upgrade, ma’am.
Shocker.
As he began the process, he requested to see my identification. He stared at my driver’s license intently, and then proclaimed rather loudly, “I wouldn’t have expected you to have a date of birth in the 1970s.”
Oh no. Which way did he think I was going, I queried? Up or down? Choose your words carefully Franklin, I thought to myself, or you’re about to have a bad day.
He replied without hesitation, “I would think you were born in the 80s.”
Franklin saved himself. And THEN he said- no joke– “You look 45.”
When I shared that I’m 55 with a guffaw, he said, “Do you work out?”
Now, some might call that a brilliant sales pitch.
Whether Franklin was right, kind, or being a good salesman almost didn’t matter. What mattered was that, for the rest of the day, I stopped seeing myself through my own overly critical lens. For a few hours, I felt lighter. Younger. More like myself.
And I smiled more.
Boy, did I need that reminder, on that very ordinary-turned-extraordinary moment in the Verizon store.
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