Ordinary Beautiful

I Went in for Lipstick. I Left with Perspective.

The other morning I stopped at CVS for the most ordinary reason. Lipstick. Mascara. I had my usual Zoom meetings and wanted to look a little more put together. The store was quiet. An employee walked over and asked if I needed help. Normally I'd say, "I'm fine, thanks." But she noticed my headband. "I have one on too," she said with a smile. We laughed. She told me hers was on sale. Naturally... I bought one.

That could have been the whole interaction. Instead, we kept talking. Somewhere between the lipstick and the headbands, she told me she's a breast cancer survivor. She talked about the mammogram that came back clear. The months of health problems no one could explain. The day she found two lumps. Stage III breast cancer. Fifteen months of treatment. Her husband rearranging his life. Her sons coming home. Her family carrying her when she couldn't carry herself. Then she said something I'll probably remember for a long time:

"You think money matters. You think status matters. You think all these other things matter. But when your health is gone... the only thing that really matters is the people you love."

Then she started talking about her 40th wedding anniversary, which is coming up soon. I expected to hear about a cruise. Or Italy. Or Hawaii. Instead, her whole face lit up. "My boys are coming home." One of them is bringing his fiancée. She hasn't seen one of her sons in eight months.

How is she celebrating 40 years of marriage? By cooking dinner for the people she loves most. Nothing extravagant. Nothing Instagram-worthy. Just being together.

Before I left, she hugged me. Not a quick, polite hug. A real one.As I walked to my car, it hit me.

I went into CVS for mascara and lipstick. I walked out with perspective.

How many extraordinary people do we pass every day? How many stories do we never hear because we're too busy rushing off to work or looking at our phones? Sometimes all it takes is staying in the conversation one more minute.

I Went in for Lipstick. I Left with Perspective.

"You think money matters. You think status matters. You think all these other things matter. But when your health is gone... the only thing that really matters is the people you love."

I went into CVS for mascara and lipstick. I walked out with perspective.

Beautiful people really are everywhere. We just have to slow down long enough to notice them.