To the editor:

The Christmas season can mean different things to different people.

A lot of us are caught up in the hustle and bustle of shopping, decorating, baking … the “usual” things this time of year. But at the same time there are many people who don’t really look forward to this time of year.

On Monday afternoon (Dec. 10) I was at Walmart doing a little shopping. By the way, that’s a pretty good time to be out there.

The sweetest lady came up to me. She was looking for thumbtacks — probably with office supplies we decided — but she stayed.  She wanted to talk and I realized more than anything she want someone to listen … to share a little time out of the day.

She told me it was going to be a difficult Christmas this year. Her husband of 57 years had passed away in January. She told me her name was Carol and she and her husband had enjoyed several years of traveling.

She wished there was a restaurant close where we could sit and have a cup of coffee!

She reached out and held my hand … touch … time … and compassion are things everyone of us are capable of offering to anyone who seems to need it.

She told me if her husband had lived to February, they would have celebrated 58 years.

As she gave me a hug (like we had been old friends) and went our separate ways, I thought about the lessons this brief encounter had offered, and she has been on my mind and heart since.

So I wish I had gotten her last name or a number to reach out to her again, but that didn’t happen. I only hope that by my spending a few minutes to talk and listen, it made her day a little lighter.

She definitely had an impact on me! So to Carol, I hope you found the thumbtacks and someday we could meet at a restaurant to have that cup of coffee.

Gail Gray, Seymour