You Can't Tell a Book By Its Cover

This past Thursday I was on my way to a meeting and stopped at a Dunkin' Donuts for a small cup of coffee, cream only. It was late afternoon so there weren't too many people present,just the truck drivers stopping for that late afternoon pick-me-up.

I approached the counter and saw the parent of one of the students that went through school with two of my children. I never really cared for her, she seemed to be from the other side of the track and a little distant. Divorced, mother of four, smoker, trying to make ends meet but always present at her kids' events.

I greeted her with my cheery "oh hi!" and received that same pouty look on her face. There weren't any questions about how things are going, how are the kids, nothing. I tossed it off in my mind thinking, "oh, it's just more of the same," and actually walked out thinking how I was so glad I rarely had to see her.

I really didn't think much about it until the local paper came out on Thursday. As I was scanning the various articles I stumbled upon a name that looked familiar in the obituaries. I read through the names of relatives. Yes, that woman's mother had just passed away and her funeral was the next day. I was so ashamed of myself for having thought so negatively of her. She was most likely working on the day of her mother's wake...

I always try to teach my children that you should always be kind to people no matter if you like them or not. You never know what is happening in their lives. Here was the perfect example. That incident was a reminder of the lesson I taught my children.

It's true. You can't tell a book by its cover. That daughter's face told a sad story but the story that was revealed was much deeper than the cover.