Sheila, Dharma's new friend

People gravitate to this child.  I don't know why or how.  They always have.  Since she was a baby.  She was not exceptionally cute as a baby or anything.  She was not advanced and doing parlor tricks at an early age.  She was just a baby like any other baby.  She smelled funny, she ate gross food, she slobbered, she was just a baby.  But people liked her.

As she got older, people liked her more.  She is overwhelming to some people because she doesn't shut down.  Ever.  She talks like everyday is her last day to talk and if she does not say everything today, she'll never have another chance to say it - which can be good or bad, depending on the day.  Dharma makes friends everywhere she goes.  People will stop and talk to her and ask her what she thinks about things.  Strangers will stop and ask her opinion on everything from clothes they are thinking of buying to gifts they are looking to buy for others.

Tonight was no exception.  We were at the store smelling candles and a lady next to us picked one up which Dharma asked to smell.  Dharma did not approve and suggested a different one, which the woman then bought.

We got the to car and I was putting the groceries in the back.  I always put Dharma in the car so she does not wander off, but tonight I did not for some reason.  She walked around the cart, toward the aisle.  Not out into the aisle, but enough that I yelled at her and the car that was coming stopped because the woman thought Dharma was going to walk out in front of her car.  It just happened that the woman parked right next to us.  When she got out of her car, I made Dharma walk around to her and apologize for making her think that Dharma was going to run out in front of her.

Dharma started crying that she was getting in trouble and telling the lady how sorry she was and that she would never do it again.  The woman, who we later learned is named Sheila, talked to Dharma for about 10 minutes there.  They talked about listening to her mom, cleaning her room, Dharma just turning 5....everything.  Dharma was still kind of upset, and Sheila asked if she gave Dharma something, would Dharma stop crying.  When Sheila reached into her purse, I thought she was going to give Dharma a sucker or a piece of gum.  Sheila is a letter carrier, and was wearing her USPS uniform (making her a good stranger, by the way) so I thought maybe she even had a cool stamp in her purse or something.

Sheila gave Dharma $4!  I told her she really did not need to do that, and it was fine, but she insisted.  Her son is 24 and just got married so Sheila said it made her feel good to make a baby happy since her baby is not her baby anymore.  She made Dharma's whole week!