This Friday in Ottawa the weather was has bad as mid January has to offer. Well, not just in Ottawa I suspect.
The day started off cold and grey, but as it went on and I looked out my office window, it turned to heavy snow. Then the wind picked-up and we had blowing snow.
At 5:00, when I left work, I was glad to have a bus to get me home and not a car.
I missed the 1st bus that gets me to my 2nd bus so had to walk 15 minutes to my stop.
But God loves me.
He put the wind in my back and fast walking energetic guy in front of me.
There is never anyone on that road. I always walk to my stop with the expansive view of the suburban fences, large trees and wide avenue spread out in front of me.
Now this guy was blocking my view. But it didn't take me long to realize that this was a good thing.
The sidewalk was covered in slush and blowing snow and this guy was my own personal trailblazer.
Wait, is this a story about hand warmers? Yes, it's coming.
We got to my bus stop and my trailblazer darted in the opposite direction.
Two kids were in the shelter. Their father was outside in a light jacket looking out for the bus.
I stepped inside and said, "bonjour" to a boy about 3 and a girl about 6. They looked surprised and answered in a shy "bonjour".
The father came in to protect his little ones out of instinct I guess. We said, "hi, bonjour" and politely smiled.
He took the little boys bare hands in his and rubbed them.
I reached in my pocket and activated a reusable hand warmer I got for Xmas.
When I handed it to the young boy he looked up in surprise. "C'est chaud!" he said as if he had just witnessed a miracle.
I watched as the young girl pulled her dark little frozen hands out of her sleeves and got closer to her brother to share the warmth.
As I looked on, it was clear to me this family had not seen many Canadian winters. Maybe this was their first.
The two little ones where huddled together holding the hand warmer with their bare hands. Their father cupped his hands over them and they all smiled and giggled at this amazing piece of heat.
After her hands were warmed up a bit, the young girl looked up at me and asked,: "Is the bus going to come?"
I guess she figured if I could pull heat out the blue I must have other out worldly powers like knowing when buses in Ottawa come to, of all places, a bus stop.
Full of a assurance I answered: "Yes, of course, the bus is going to come! The bus always comes. It always comes late, but it always comes."
The father and I smiled at the subtle joke and two little ones nodded at each other in agrement.
Of course a bus would come before they froze in a bus stop. With this miracle "heat in bag" all would be fine.
The brother and sister started to play with the warmer putting it on their noses and checks then fighting over it as kids do till the bus came.
As the bus finally pulled-up, the father told them to give back the hand warmer and say "merci beaucoup", which they did with a shy smile.
The hand warmer not only brought warmth to the kids hands but to my heart as I watched the little ones be kids and forget for a moment they were cold and anxiously waiting for a bus in a snow storm.
Take out the kleenex.
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