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Our daughter, a grandchild, and Ray and I spent a fun day together yesterday shopping at IKEA. The office remodel that we began in October is getting close to move-in time and we needed filing cabinets and such.

We had some memorable moments in the midst of our mostly-normal outing. On Bethany’s recommendation, Ray and I joined IKEA Family today. It’s free, and among its many benefits are free cups of hot tea. As I took my mug and tea bag to the coffee and tea area, a tall, thin young woman pushed the button to dispense half and half into her mug. It spewed wildly onto the machine, the floor, and her raspberry velour sweatsuit. Poor thing.

I left the area until an employee got it all cleaned up. When I returned to put half and half into my mug, I stood around the corner by the side of the machine, making sure that only my fingers were in front. I got my half and half without mishap.

Our little grandchild enjoyed the stroller and the IKEA adventure for a good long while. Still, the little one got ready to go the car before Notty and Little Mama (Little for short) finished shopping.

When Ray and I got ready to exit, he pushed a large flat cart and I pushed a shopping cart toward the travelator (a moving sidewalk that descends gently toward the parking garage). Fortunately, Ray was in front, because when he tried to get through the two posts at the travelator entrance, they blocked his flat cart from entering (I’m glad I wasn’t half-way down with Ray stuck at the top). That’s when we noticed the sign that said people with flat carts should use a different exit.

When we got to the place where we were instructed to go, we found two elevators. One was open and one closed. Ray absent-mindedly pushed the down button; I suggested we just get on the open one. He felt a bit foolish as we entered the open elevator. It was my turn to feel foolish when we couldn’t get any buttons to work. We got back off that elevator, pushed the button, and waited for the other elevator.

Feeling bad that we had kept our daughter waiting so long, we told her our story about trying to get out of IKEA. This prompted her to tell her own elevator story. She had entered an elevator with several other customers. They all got on the elevator and just stood there. Finally someone asked if anyone had pushed the button. An older man joked, “Elevator, take us down.”

I like to take photographs. Once when Ray and I went to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for the state homeschool convention, we toured the state capitol. I held my camera up to take a picture inside an elevator. Just as I clicked the shutter, the elevator door opened. A young woman who stood waiting to get on said, “I’m not that photogenic.”

2012 May Pa with Nate and Mev and Clara 141
Here are Ray and I during another Pennsylvania state capitol elevator shot. We and that elevator weren’t so photogenic either, but if you look closely, you can see the symbol of the Keystone State in the center of the floor.

Life is filled with surprises. It is fun to share those surprises with people you love. Do you have an elevator story you can share with your children today? If you have time, share one with me, too. I’d love to hear it.

The path of life leads upward for the wise.
Proverbs 15:24, NASB

 

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