The Halloween Face!

Okay, I have another story to tell! :) This one happened to me about a month ago (way before my "poop" story)! LOLOLOL!!!! And, yes, this story is funny to one degree, but so very sad to another! After it happened, I laughed due to the "I can't believe that just happened to me" moment, but a few minutes later, I was crying in Target, due to the "how awful how that just happened" and "I will never complain again!" Soooooo, have I got your curiosity peeked??!! Maybe, I should just wait and tell ya later!!! lol! Just kidding! Here goes:

Mark, the boys and I were at the Stringtown Wal-Mart doing a little shopping. It was about a week before Halloween, so keep that in mind. I had gotten the Joel Osteen book (a gift from my mom) around that same time and just started reading it. I had also watched Joel Osteen on Larry King Live and was real impressed w/him and what he had to say! Joel Osteen is a famous minister in Houston and has written two motivational books about how to improve your life! I just happen to really like him! This fact is important later on in my story! :) Sooooo, we are at Wal-Mart and we pay and are on our way out the door. Now, as you all know, way too often, there is someone sitting out front of Wal-Mart selling things. Usually they are selling candy bars or something little like that! I usually just walk right on by these people or sometimes I, at least, say "no, thank you." Well, this day was no different. As we walk out, there sits a young lady selling what looks like little candy bars. So, after reading some of Joel's book, I figured it might be nice to stop and smile and say hello and see what she was selling and why. I don't remember for sure, but I think it was candy bars for a church! To tell the story correctly, I have to mention two things: 1)it was getting dark out by this point and 2)the young woman was black (I don't want to be a Don Imus). But, the point that she was black may explain better why this happened to me! Soooo, Mark and the boys walk out in front of me and I follow behind. Oh, yeah, another detail I left out is that Mark had gotten the car and pulled up front to get the kids and I. Soooooo, I follow behind my family and see this young woman. Sooooo, I stop and smile and say hi. I ask her how much the candy bars are and she says it is donation only and you get a piece of candy! Mark is putting Jacob in the car and I holler to him to get some money (I'm broke). :) As I am waiting for Mark to get the money, I decide to make some "small talk" with the young lady! Sooooo, I look her straight in the eye (b/c I am thinking how soooo many people get overlooked and ignored these days). I am really trying to make an "extra" effort to be "extra" friendly (it is all Joel's fault). Personally, I think I am VERY FRIENDLY on any given day. I always try to smile and notice people in general b/c you never know who might need it. One smile to one person may make their day and you may never realize it! Okay, I am getting off track here. Sooooo, I look her right in the eye and I can't help but notice that her face is all done up!!!! With make-up that is! It looked like she had totally decorated her face, sort of like a kitty cat! I am assuming since it is so close to Halloween that that is what she did! W/out missing a beat (or using my head obviously), I say to her, "Oh, You Decorated Your Face For Halloween To Sell Candy, HUH!!!!!" Well, I'm sure you can guess what happened next!!!! NO, SHE HAD NOT DECORATED HER FACE FOR HALLOWEEN!!!!!! She says so very politely that "no, my face just looks like this!" I COULD HAVE DIED!!!!!!! I was 100% caught off guard and had NO IDEA what to say now!!!!! I didn't want to just stand there and say nothing - and running off, like I wanted too, didn't seem to be the right choice, either! The nice young woman does say to me (as I am standing there feeling awful) that I was not the first person to think that! Sooooo, after standing there for what felt like FOREVER, I finally say, "Were you born this way?" Now, some of you might think this is the 2nd embarassing thing for me to say to her. I disagree. After thinking she had Halloween make-up on and finding out that was not the case, I felt like it was okay to inquire! I have heard numerous times that disabled people would rather be asked about their disability rather than stared at! Soooo, I just figured that this might be true in this case as well. Plus, in the few moments (that felt like yrs.) that I stood there thinking of what to say next.........I prayed and asked God what to do next. I felt like these were the words that came to me! Soooo, I ask if she was born this way. She says she was, but it was much smaller when she was little, but grew throughout the years! By this point, I am completely blank on what to say next, so I simply say "I'm sorry!" By this point, Mark had the kids in the car. I get some money from him and give it to the girl. I tell the girl "bye" and I get in the car and we drive off! Mark looks at me and says "I know you feel bad right now, but I am just glad it was you and not me!" I start laughing b/c it is SO AWFUL what happened!!!! You either laugh or cry! I laughed! Not at the girl, no, but at me!!!! How could this happen??!! I felt so bad!!!! Sooooo, we drive over to the new Target in Grove City (which most of you know isn't far) and park and go in the store. As we are getting the cart, I just started walking and crying!!!! I still felt soooo bad. But, the funny part of what happened to me, was over! It wasn't funny, not really! This girl has to live with her face looking like it is decorated for Halloween!!!!! I don't know if anyone knows this, but I have rosacea! It is basically reddening of the face! My cheeks will, often times, be much more red than they should be. I have cream from the dermatologist that I put on it, but sometimes I am self-conscience of it! Standing there in Target, thinking of this young woman, I told Mark that I would never complain of my rosacea again! Soooo, I laughed and cried and felt bad for a whole week! I have told people my story and everyone has been so sweet to me! Most people suggest that I was put in this woman's path that day for a reason! Maybe! I hope so! I will never know! I do feel like she was put in MY life that day for a reason! :) Oh, I wanted to point out why I mentioned that she was black! :) She had a hoody on and in the dark, since she already had a dark complexion, I just thought it might help explain what happened. I might have been able to tell better (on a white person) that it wasn't make-up. Maybe, maybe not, but I felt it was worth mentioning! :)
Soooo, for the whole following week, I kept saying that I was going to email Joel Osteen!!!!! This was all his fault, of course! If it wasn't for him, I would have just walked right on by or, at the most, just said hello, and carried on my way!!!! Joel is to blame for this! :) I never did email him, but I still wonder what he would say if I did! :) I hope that it is true and there is more to this story than meets the eye! I will probably never know, but I hope it is true! In the meantime, take my advice, and NEVER, EVER ask a woman about her make-up!!!!!! LOL!!!! :))