I really enjoyed chatting with you

“What a beautiful dog!” the elderly gentleman called out from his car. As he drew to a halt in the middle of the residential road, it was obvious this was a cue hoping I’d approach.

“Thank you,” I responded as Heidi and I made our way towards his vehicle.

“She’s so beautiful. An Australian …” as he hesitated, I completed his query, “Yes, an Australian Shepherd.”

He was settling in now, putting his vehicle, still in the middle of the road, into Park.

“My wife died a year ago. And our dog began to fade when she died. He just faded and died soon after.”

With that I told him how sorry I was about losing his wife and then the dog as well. “It must still be difficult for you.”

He shared how the dog just faded away and then how he copes each day without his wife. I asked him to tell me about her.

During this entire time, he remained in his parked car, me standing at his door, and Heidi lying at my feet. A handful of cars made their way slowly by during our extended conversation. Some waving or smiling knowingly. Though the drivers thought we were neighbours chatting; not realizing it was one stranger needing to talk and the other knowing how important it was to listen.

He brought his attention back to Heidi again. “She’s sure a pretty thing.” He looked up at me and smiled. Then he began to tell me about what a great mother his wife was. How she had to take charge when he was away in the Navy. “We were married 63 years. I looked after her for her final 10 years. She wasn’t well.” He again told me how much he misses her.

I hope my responses were warm enough, caring enough.

And then, he took his car out of park, looked at me with a warm smile, and said, “I really enjoyed chatting with you.”

“And I enjoyed our chat as well.”

As easily as the conversation began, it ended with the same ease. And with two strangers holding a special warmth within their hearts for having spent a little time in the middle of a residential road.

“Sometimes all a person wants is an empathetic ear; all he or she needs is to talk it out. Just offering a listening ear and an understanding heart for his or her suffering can be a big comfort.” —Roy T. Bennett