T-shirt Connections
In the check-out line in Costco yesterday, I was given some gifts from the universe.
Yessa was sitting in my cart, and there were carts around us, also with children.
The woman in the line next to me, who had a rather angry two-year old in her cart, read my CrossFit Nashville t-shirt and said, “CrossFit? Does that mean you know how to deadlift?”
This may seem like a strange question, but to a CrossFitter, it’s like a drink of icy cold water on a hot day.
I responded excitedly, “Yes, I LOVE to deadlift. In fact, we are deadlifting tonight!”
We visited a little longer, and thanks to the energy of our conversation, the family in front of us turned to notice Yessa and me.
This family had 5 children scattered in and around the cart. The mom could have been me…about my age, about my size, similarly well-cared for appearance. (By this I mean no make up, but obviously fed, not frightened by life or her children, speaking to her family in a kind, open way.) The elder children were about Buster and Yessa’s ages, so I said to the eldest, “Are you all homeschoolers, too?”
The mom turned to me with a big smile, “Of course! Who else would be out in the middle of the day?”
We talked about whether or not we leave the kids in the car while we run into a store, and how society sometimes intervenes in an unexpected way. (I had mentioned that my older two were off reading, and she wanted to know if I meant in the car.)
We talked about where we lived, and a tiny bit about homeschooling, and life: the way women do when they have 45 seconds before the groceries have to be loaded on the conveyer belt and all the children are content to stand close.
The entire time, my mind was whirring to recall information because the woman was wearing a t-shirt that said, “Vote yes on Amendment 1 in November.” She had a pin on her bag with the same logo.
Amendment 1 is an initiative in Tennessee that we’ll vote on in November. Under the guise of protecting women and children, the amendment would restrict abortion in a variety of ways included reduced access and funding. I will be voting NO on Amendment 1.
But as I stood talking to her, I couldn’t remember what a “yes” vote indicated. Did “yes” mean she was on our side, or their side? And if she was on their side, why was she? I mean, I knew she had 7 children (the older two stayed home from Costco), and that led me to a whole host of assumptions, but what was truly her reason?
I really wanted to understand, and I think she and I could have had a deep and fascinating conversation about the issues and life in general, but, we were in Costco, on a busy Friday afternoon, with 8 children between the two of us, so the conversation wasn’t going to happen on this day…or probably on any day…and I’m really sorry about that.
For a brief moment it felt like I could have made a connection with someone who probably/possibly/who even knows, had deep philosophical and religious differences from mine, and we could have still liked each other, still grown close, been comfortable with each other, shared our honest insights and world-views without judgment. This has become so rare, even for a comfortable extrovert like me.
Power to the t-shirts, but vote No on Amendment 1.
