Christine

I had the sweetest experience today, but I need to preface it a little bit. Last semester, I used to go to lunch in the cafeteria by myself a few times a week, and I usually just went in, ate, and left as quickly as I could. Every day, though, this lady walked by cleaning tables and sweeping the floor. We would say hello and make small talk, and eventually we introduced ourselves to each other. Her name is Christine, and I think she may have some mental disability - it's not severe, but it's kind of noticeable when you talk to her. A lot of people with mental disabilities work in the Cannon Center during lunch, and they're all so awesome and friendly. I usually didn't talk to many people during my 17-minute lunch break, but after she was comfortable with talking to me, Christine would come over and chat with me for a while. One day she just walked right up to me and started talking to me like we were best friends - she asked me where I'm from, if I like any boys, what I like to do, and what I want to do with my life. That was the day I think we officially became friends, and every day after that she would come up to me without hesitation and tell me all about her life and how her day had been going...we talked about anything and everything. Sometimes I would be in the Cannon Center for almost an hour just chatting with her. It was one of my favorite parts of the day: eating and talking to my new friend. When I came back from winter break for second term, she had gotten a new job. Instead of cleaning up, she now works in one of the kitchens, so she doesn't get to walk around anymore. Our conversations have been shorter since she can't just hang around cleaning the tables around me - she actually has to make food and do all that fun kitchen stuff. Today, I was getting my lunch while she was on her lunch break, so we got to sit together and talk for a little while before she had to get back to work. As I was leaving, she said "Bye Michelle! I love you!" It took me a minute to process what she said, but when I realized what she had said it made me tear up a little bit as I said "I love you too!" It made my day. It's as simple as that. The smile on her face as she waved goodbye to me was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. I love that sweet lady.