The Stranger I Met Today

“So, which ones?” I asked, holding up the battery-powered candles with the gold bottoms in one hand and the ones with the nickel brushed bottoms in the other.  My husband told me, in the center of the Christmas section of Target, that it was time for us to try the battery-powered candles in the front windows of the house.  Over the past year, he has become the self-appointed Energy Sheriff - monitoring the energy bill, unplugging dormant electronics to avoid ‘vampire energy,’ and constantly walking behind me and turn off the lights in rooms I’m exiting.  Do I leave the lights on too much?  Yes, BUT I also don’t turn the lights off if I’m immediately returning to that room.  Why?  Short answer – because I’m not the Energy Sheriff.  I’m not even the Energy Deputy. 

(Because of the Sheriff’s efforts, the electric bill has gone down.  We now pay about $2.27 less per month.  )

Back to Target –

“I don’t know.  What if they’re not bright enough?” he said. 

“Well, we won’t know until we try,” I replied.  We stood in the aisle, comparing our lighting options. 

“Excuse me?  Are you buying candles today?” a woman asked.  She must’ve heard us from the other end of the aisle, where she was browsing wreaths and artificial holly. 

“Maybe.  Do you have anything you’d like to recommend?” I asked. 

“No, but I have some.  Actually, I have a lot.  They’re in good shape too.  I moved and can’t use them anymore.  It’s actually five candles on one base.  I’ll just give them to you, if you want them.  I’m not using them anymore, so if you need them, they’re yours.”

Lesson Learned

The woman had electric candles, not battery-powered ones, and it sounded like they were too big for our windows, so we didn’t accept them. But the fact that she offered them; it was kind.  We were not only offered candles in that Target aisle, we were offered a little bit of that magical Christmas generosity.  I’ll have to remember to do that more often, every month of the year.