"YOU ARE FREE"

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FREE

    On the way home from picking up my grandson from kindergarten, we stopped at a convenience store to "borrow" their restroom and purchase the obligatory Diet Coke. You never want to go into a store to use their facilities without buying a $1.00 drink, right?

    Well, the restroom was occupied. I stood, not so patiently, outside the door. Obviously, the person inside intended to take every second of their time, after all, they had probably done their own "potty dance" waiting in line. 

    I was about to knock on the door and ask if I could have just a couple seconds and then would gladly return the room to them. Just before I knocked, the door opened and a small child who looked vaguely familiar came out. The door slammed shut behind him and he stood there looking up at me as if I should know what he needed to do next. There really wasn't a lot of time for six-year-old instructions so I waved him to the front and mumbled something about picking out some candy.  I'm a pretty reasonable grand-motherly type but there is only one reason you risk a pubic bathroom, so I bolted inside. As the door slammed behind me I realized I had just given my grandson free rein of the candy section.

    Finishing as quickly as possible, I washed my hands and dried them on my jeans. No paper towels of course. I've always felt the bottom of my jeans must surely be cleaner than the napkins sitting on the sink, right? In less dire straits, I headed to the front.

    As I approached the register to pay for my drink, there he was, scoping out the candy beside the register. I'm not sure the lady behind the counter could even see the top of his head. 

    I watched, eyes wide, as his hand went in his pocket. Still, it never occurred to me to question him to see if he had anything "unpaid for" lurking inside.

As we left the store, being the grandmother I was, I started asking what was in his pocket.

    Kneeling in front of my wide-eyed grandson I began asking questions and asked him to show me the candy. As he pulled it out, tears formed in his eyes. I could tell my little guy was confused and was trying to say he hadn't meant to take it and didn't know how it got into his pocket. I knew how badly he wanted it but knew he needed to learn a very hard lesson.  them came back in. The mom said to the lady behind the counter, "We have something to tell you". The little girl looked up and said, "I'm sorry I,... Umm I didn't mean to,... well I'm sorry I almost took your candy". By this time the lady's husband was standing behind the counter with both hands on top of it. They both looked down at her and the man said, "YOU ARE FREE. YOU ARE FREE, YOU CAN GO". He gave her a big smile and she wiped her eyes with her little chubby hand and smiled back. As they were leaving the store the last time, the little girl looked up at her mommy and said "I don't feel guilty anymore"!

Even I had to wipe my eyes. It could have been me, or you, or anyone with children or grandchildren. If we could free others from their guilt, we ourselves would feel free just like the little girl did. I picture her skipping down the sidewalk in front of her house singing joyfully.

BEING FREE MEANS "NOT FEELING GUILTY ANYMORE"

Good night and sleep in peace.