Feeling like a lemon.

Lately, I frequently get sent shopping by the chefs at work on account I live near a supermarket and the chefs are just lazy quite honestly. It's generally very odd lists and ridiculous quanitities; the cashiers must think I really love mushy peas and aubergines. Anyway, the weekend took it to a whole different level with 20 lemons. I mean come on, for what reason could any normal person want that many lemons? 

Well when life gives you lemons ... 

So I'll paint the picture for you ... I'm in Tesco, absolutely destroying the lemon stand and me, simply being me, thought I could shove them in one bag. I'm sure you can guess what happened in the centre of Tesco as I walked away ... 

So there I am, torn bag in hand, cursing and chasing, actually chasing, 20 rolling lemons around the aisle. Fairly embarassed and flustered, I just kept dropping them. What annoyed me however was that no one thought to help me. Now I know it was my fault but it's common decency if someone drops something to offer a hand, right? Well clearly not. Several people walked past me and not even a member of staff helped; I felt like the beaten Jew in the Good Samaritan story.

Okay, slight exaggeration, but one person did help, someone who I least expected. In my fluster I didn't even look up from my crawling; all I saw was muscular, manly hands grabbing my lemons, and I thought at last, a gentleman. 

In fact, you know in films when the girl's kind of ditsy and she meets the man of her dreams at the most awkward, embarassing moment? He helps her in her moment of need. Their hands maybe clumsily touch. She's bashfully apologising. They finally come up. Their eyes meet and linger longer than necessary. Then it's happily ever after. She's found someone who finds her clumsiness endearing ... 

... Well that didn't happen. 

After I'd lost all my dignity but regained most of my lemons, I looked up to thank my knight in shining armour. 

My knight, happened to be, a man in a dress ... 

Oh no, that's not all. He had a brunette wig resembling a bad Billy Rae Cyrus mullet, and a cheap Barbie pink lipstick that clashed with his blue eyeliner. 

I'm not going to lie I was pretty taken aback. Firstly because I was slightly disappointed this wasn't my true love moment. Secondly because that was the last face I'd expected to see when I looked up. 

Then I was annoyed. Why wouldn't he (... she?) help me? He's still human, with human values. In fact he was kinder than all the stuck up women that walked past me. He was more helpful than the staff that get paid to help idiots like me. He was more gentlemanly than all of the men that walked past. He took the time to help me. One simple unexpected act of human kindness, that is sadly all too rare.

So although he may want and be able to change his gender physically (sort of) he clearly can't shake his gentlemanly values and for that, I'm very grateful. 

So when life gives you lemons, put them in a gin and tonic and sit back and appreciate the small acts of kindness that make the world a nicer place.