I love it when stuff like this happens

Today I had one of those experiences that made my day. Orion and I met an older gentleman, probably in the 60-70 range, in Ace Hardware that blew my socks off. At first glance, I would have guessed he was one of those grumpy old conservatives the Westside is known for, but I was quite wrong, as I have been many times in my life!

Our interaction began as he noticed Orion spinning in circles as we waited in line, and he offered to let me go ahead of him. I accepted and was thinking, "Oh great, he is thinking I have a terribly behaved child." But what followed was a conversation that warmed my heart all day.

Me: Oh, thank you! I guess you can see I have a crazy, little monkey with me.
Him: She sure is a cute little monkey though.
Me: (pausing, as I always do, to think whether I should bother to correct people) He's a boy, but that's OK, everybody always thinks he is a girl - it's my fault for not cutting his hair. I love his curls.
Him: (looking very sorry) Oh no! Don't ever apologize! His hair is beautiful.... I want to tell you a story. I have a grandson who had long hair, and he really liked it. His mom and grandma got to the point they wanted him to cut it, and he didn't want to. They decided to hold him down, and he screamed the whole time as they did it.

The look on this man's face as he told me this just broke my heart. He was clearly completely disgusted by their behavior and looked like he was reliving his sadness for his grandson as he told me. Whenever I meet older people who seem to have an innate understanding about respectful parenting, it makes me so thankful to know these people were around even in a time when that thinking was not very popular. But it got even more touching...

Me: Oh my gosh, how horrible. With him, though, he has been talking about wanting to cut it, and I am the one who doesn't want to!
Him: (looking at Orion) Don't do it son! I used to have dark, curly hair and look at me now. (He was mostly bald.) You will look like this soon enough.
Me: (laughing) Yeah, listen to him, Orion! I do think he just has a babyface too, and that makes people think he is a girl. He takes after his dad. If my husband shaves his beard off, he looks about 12.
Him: Well, that is a good thing! He has a great look.
Me: Yeah, I think so too. :)

At this point, I was up at the front paying for my small purchase and getting ready to leave. The last thing he said to us as he bid us farewell... "Seriously, whatever you do, don't ever try to change him!"

:sniff: Not a chance.