Hope In the Form of a Stranger

It's late, and I've not been home from work very long, but I had to share this before I went to sleep.

I customer came in and bought a cupcake tonight; she was probably in her late 20's, nice and normal looking. As I rang her up at the register, she commented on why she was buying the cupcake: "I just ran a marathon yesterday and now I just keep eating everything!"

I was so excited! "I'm running a marathon in January," I replied, ecstatic. We only spoke for a minute or two, but it was such a good feeling to talk to this stranger who understood what it felt like. "It's not that hard, you'll be able to do it," she told me. She herself was not a runner; this had been her first marathon. Right before she left, she imparted to me one more nugget of marathon knowledge:

"It's so worth it; it's emotional and you'll just cry at the end of it, but it's great!"

Tonight, she became my favorite customer, and I really hope I see her again in January so I can tell her about how it wasn't really that hard, and how I cried at the end, and how it was so worth it.