To all the Marias in the World

A few weeks ago, after I dropped my son off at his Art class, I decided to pull into the parking lot and wait for him while working in the car instead of going home. This ritual has been part of my life for a few years now, when I take kids from sports, to music, to Art classes I load the van with paperwork that I need to do, and at the same time, I save gas and gives me time to complete a project. I actually enjoy the peace and confinement that my van offers.

The day was warm and I left the air conditioner running as I worked, and I guess I became very sleepy. I must dozed off because the next thing I remember was a loud knock on my window that startled me, racing my heart beat and confusing me as I didn't know, for a second, where I was.

"Are you OK?" said this old lady as she motioned me to lower my window. My first thought was: "Well, I was until you almost gave me a heart attack!." I bit my tongue, of course, smiled and opened my window. She apologized and asked me if I was trying to kill myself. "What??" I thought again. She, then proceeded to tell me that "my neighbor had killed himself in his garage running his car and I couldn't just get in my car and not see if you were sleeping or unconscious."

Maria was a lonely, very sweet Portuguese lady, 79 years old, who, in 20 minutes, described her whole life to me; from her arrival to this country, her marriage to this wonderful man who died young, to her grown son and her desire to become a grandma. She added that she usually didn't talk this much because people didn't have time to listen to her rumbling on. She proceeded to thank me, waived good bye and left.

Odd, I thought, but I truly enjoyed my encounter with Maria. Some people still care. She was concerned about my well being and risked being rejected in order to make sure I was well. I thanked her for that. How many of us would have actually done what she did? As I resumed working on my papers another thought crossed my mind: What if I had entertained an Angel in disguise? If I had I know I passed the test, and a warm feeling filled my heart.