I am wondering how my old neighbor, "Scowling-Russian-Woman-with-Tiny-Dog" is doing. When I first moved here, she would be out in the lot with her tiny dog and a babooshka scarf over her head. I would wave to her as I drove out. She would look up, maintain her frown, and watch as I headed out.
This would go on for months. I made it my mission to befriend her. One day, I waved to her and when she saw that I had kids in my car, I saw a hint of a smile. After still a few more months, Scowling-Russian-Woman-with-Tiny-Dog looked up at me, still frowning, but returned my wave. Success!
I developed this fantasy that her name was Olga, and that we would have interesting chats in the parking lot where she would say such things as "You like beets but have never had borscht? I make you some borscht!" Over delicious soup, she would mention that her daughter, Svetlana, was soon coming from the Old Country and needed someone to help her with American customs. Svetlana would be about my age, strikingly beautiful, and we would get along famously.
Scowling-Russian-Woman-with-Tiny-Dog and I met at the mail boxes one day. It turns out that her name was Judy and she was of German descent, not Russian at all. She confessed to me that she was experiencing money troubles and facing eviction. I realized this was the reason for all the frowns. For all the scowls. There was no Svetlana. There was no borscht. Just an old woman with too much weight on her shoulders full of worry and fear. She was evicted a couple weeks after our conversation.
I don't know why I'm writing. Maybe there was a lesson to be learned - that I should be more encouraging and open in sharing about how God provided for me through various miracles - or maybe that I should realize that many who appear unfriendly are just hurting or preoccupied with worry. Maybe both these things. Yeah....probably both these things.