I had the sweetest, and most unique, encounter recently.

His name was Trace.

My daughter and I were standing in line at a coffee shop we found while on our girl’s trip. Let me interrupt myself here and say, isn’t it wonderful to find a really good coffee shop while on a trip?

One of my favorite things.

Anyway, as we were debating exactly what to order, a young man came and stood in line behind us; he introduced himself as Trace. Trace picked up a Coke Zero out of the refrigerator case then looked at me and said, “is that your daughter?“ To which I smiled and answered, “yes she is.” Then he said, “your hair is gray.” His candor struck me, but I still smiled and responded, “yes, yes it is.” Without skipping a beat he said, “you’re old, gray hair means you’re old.” I looked at my daughter, then I looked at the barista, each of us with a stunned look on our face, and then I looked back at him and responded, “yes, that’s true, I am old.”

And I smiled.

He then went on to ask me a plethora of questions which I answered to the best of my ability: did I have a husband, does he work, do I have boys etc. etc. I just kept smiling and answering. Then Trace lost interest in us and headed, with his Coke Zero, over to another group of ladies and begin to ask them all about their lives. My daughter and I went about our business and ordered our coffees, and Trace’s mother, mortified he’d taken a Coke from the case without permission, came over and paid the barista. She was slightly apologetic about the whole situation, but I assured her there was no reason to be.

Thinking back over the short conversation, I was trying to put emotion to how it felt to be called old in front of an entire coffee shop, Trace was anything but quiet. You know what, I didn’t mind. I honestly didn’t. Trace had special needs, and I understood that, I also understand that he was trying his best to make conversation and I was happy to oblige.

Friendliness doesn’t have to always look the same.

Sometimes it can be awkward and mostly one sided.

But that’s okay, if the motivation is goodness.

Trace’s desire to connect with those around him brightened my day and it also made me realize that I really am okay with my “gray hair” and having grown kids. It took me a while to accept all of this, but I have, and I wouldn’t change it.

And you can bet, the next time I have a Coke Zero, I’ll think of my new friend, Trace.