God and Miss Mae

Yesterday was a yucky miserable day with sheets of icy cold rain pouring down from the dark sky, amid strong gusts of whipping frigid wind cutting right through to your very bones. A day when most will agree they would rather stay in their warm beds.

After work, I had to run by and pick my daughter up from school. She had stayed after to make up a test she had missed when out sick last week. The wind literally rocked my SUV! I needed to stop by the grocery store but decided against it and pulled into McDonald’s instead. So it wasn’t the most healthy meal choice, but it is cheap. The bonus is a friend of mine runs this store and I caught her right before she was leaving for the day. She sat and chatted as Leah and I had dinner. We were just finishing up when a feeble elderly lady wondered in to ask for directions. The young employee at the counter was unsure, so my friend, Donna, stepped up and asked the lady where she needed to go.

The lady said the name of a town about 10 miles from here. She wrote down the directions as they were given then turned to go. As, Donna returned to the booth where my daughter and I were sitting, she noticed the elderly lady crying as she was leaving. Donna caught her and said it was much too bad of a night for her to be upset and driving to please sit down, have a cup of coffee and talk a bit. As we listened from the adjoining booth this lady could not even give her home address to Donna. She said she had been visiting with her son in a local nursing home and must have stayed a bit too late. She wasn’t familiar with the area and it had gotten dark out. The lady introduced herself as Mae. Donna glanced over her shoulder at me. I knew the thoughts running through her mind and just nodded.

Donna told “Miss Mae” that I was her friend and this was my daughter with me and that we would be more than happy to drive her to the next town to make sure she got home safely. Miss Mae broke down into sobs. She replied that she knew if she kept praying hard enough that God would send someone to help her. It is a very heart wrenching sight to see an elderly woman sit there and cry. I felt the tears well up in my own eyes. Donna excused herself from Miss Mae for a moment and I followed her out the side door. She started by saying that she knew that Miss Mae would never make it to the next town tonight and hoped it was okay to offer our assistance. Of course!

We went back in where my daughter had been keeping Miss Mae company, while she still searched her purse for her address. She did say she would recognize the area near home when we got there. I hoped so too. Donna helped Miss Mae to her car and our little caravan started out in the driving dark rain. I am not fond of driving on rainy nights myself and the wind wasn’t making the job easy. So I tucked a little prayer in myself for all of our safety.

We delivered Miss Mae to a cozy little apartment complex that is set up especially for the aging. Her tiny white poodle met her at the door. She hugged both of our necks and said she would never ever be able to repay us. In fact, she said, surely there is something around that I could offer you. We declined and said we were just thankful she was home safe. We said our goodbyes and hurried into my warm vehicle.

As soon as we pulled back onto the road, I asked Donna what she had found out about Miss Mae. I could tell they were having a conversation while behind them at one of the red lights. Miss Mae said as they had pulled out of McDonald’s that she might as well share her life ‘story’ as they traveled up the road.

Miss Mae is 83 years young. She is from West Virginia and has only lived here for about 3 years. She has a son that lives close and another that is in a local nursing home. She raised 7 boys, after her husband walked out on her ~ never to be heard from again. Four of those sons graduated from college, while Miss Mae worked three jobs. Miss Mae also said she had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Usually a lady drove her to the nursing home for her visit; however she thought it was a simple drive and that she could make it on her own. Like I said previously mentioned, she hugged our necks at the door. Giving me that feeling that she was just a warm, giving and loving soul you were blessed that you had crossed paths. Then she laughed and said the ladies at the Senior meeting will get a kick out of this story and really have fun with me tomorrow. Little did she know how she had brought a bright spot into all of our hearts for the night. I think we met an angel wandering into a McDonald’s and I am blessed today to share her story.