In the least expected places and, at times, within the least expected people, we may encounter an angel among us. I’m not talking about a transparent spirit being, but rather, an angel in human form who may look just like you or me.
The other day was Easter Monday which meant I had my oldest daughter home from school as well as her 1 year old sister. On the days in which I have them both at home, I usually plan something ahead of time so that I can keep my older one entertained while also tending to the baby. Well, the planning didn’t happen on this day, and, as it happened, we all ended up sleeping in because it was dark and rainy outside. I was awoken to the sound of my phone ringing and it was my husband calling me from work to let me know there was going to be a large delivery from the local hardware store in about an hour. As I was finishing up getting ready, and by this I mean brushing my teeth, washing my face, and changing out of my pyjamas, the doorbell rang. We also just recently installed one of those lovely doorbells that chime in surround sound throughout all floors of the house which also woke up the baby. Oh great, I thought to myself, what a way to wake up after a nice long sleep. I ran down to answer the door and found myself looking at a rather disheveled-looking, middle- aged man with long hair and very worn and practically tattered clothes. He introduced himself as the driver from the hardware store and asked me where he was to leave the shipment. I told him I would open one of the two garage doors and that he could leave the shipment on that side of the garage as per my husband’s request. I closed the front door and hurriedly made my way toward the garage as I heard my baby screaming from her bedroom upstairs, and my older daughter calling out to me for breakfast from the kitchen. I ran to the garage and opened one of the garage doors for the shipment. The delivery man was standing there waiting for me and, when he saw the space, he told me the shipment wouldn’t fit in that space and that the entire garage space would be needed. My husband’s van was parked on the other side of the garage which meant I would have to move it outside in order to free up the space in the entire garage. I asked the man to give me a minute as I would have to find my husband’s spare set of keys. I ran inside and, by this point, my baby’s crying seemed inconsolable so I decided the man with the delivery would have to wait, my older daughter would have to wait, and that I would tend to the baby at that moment. I went upstairs, picked up the baby and started changing a full and leaky diaper, as I got my husband on the phone trying to find out where he kept the spare car keys. After I changed the baby, I brought her downstairs, put her in her high chair with a bottle of milk, told my older daughter to wait five more minutes, and ran to find the spare keys. With the keys in hand, I went back to the garage, and saw the delivery man standing patiently just under the garage door opening as it was raining outside. I felt the need to apologize to him at keeping him waiting, and quickly let him know I had two young kids I was tending to. Luckily, he didn’t seem bothered at all. I moved my husband’s van out of the way and went back inside to continue feeding the baby and prepared breakfast for my older daughter.
By this point, my heart was beating fast, half my hair had fallen out of the clip, and I hadn’t yet had my morning coffee. Ding dong, the billowing doorbell rang again. Dang, I thought to myself, he’s already done unloading all the stuff? I went to the front door with the baby on my hip as the delivery man waited with the paper work for me to sign. With one free arm, I signed the papers and he handed me my copy. He thanked me, and just as he was about to leave, he looked at me with kind-hearted eyes and said to me as he pointed to my baby, “you know, they will remember you.” I thanked him, closed the door and started crying. In that moment, with the craziness of the morning and the stress I was feeling, those words “they will remember you” made it all fade away. My oldest daughter came up to me and asked me what was wrong and I told her that nothing was wrong, I was just so happy that an angel had come to me to tell me a very special message. When she asked me what the message was, I told her it was that you and your sister will remember me. She looked at me, half rolled her eyes and said, “of course mommy,” and went back to her breakfast.
On that morning, I was reminded that angels walk among us. I was also reminded that what I did as a parent, even when I felt stressed or overwhelmed would not be in vain, and that I would be remembered-not only for the things I did or didn’t do for them, but more importantly for the unconditional love my children feel from me. I believe that angel in disguise was sent to me on that grey, rainy morning to remind me to let go of the stress of parenting, and to embrace the precious present moment, with all of its fleeting and glorious grace.