I know what you must be thinking, “A cow?!?! Seriously? Who cares!?”
Living in a rural area, it’s not uncommon to see a field full of cows, but never one that left such a profound impact on my life. I didn’t know the reason this particular cow was in a field by itself. I didn’t even know if it was a male or female, but I was certain that it was sad and very lonely. He needed a friend, of that, I was sure!
Just as I imagined a sadness overtaking him, I was consumed with the idea that everyone and everything needed somebody, especially this cow. Days became weeks. Weeks turned into months. Life settled back into a cycle of challenges and small victories, but every time I drove past that field there was only one thing on my mind.
“He needs a friend!”
We moved away from that little house and eventually the memory of the lonely cow began to fade. I no longer had the visual reminder to distract me from the daily grind. The pressures of starting a new job and learning my way around a different town consumed much of my time. After a while, my old friend seemed to be nothing more than a distant memory. Then it happened, the moment I realized how significantly a single cow had affected my life.
The day started out like any other. I finished work and headed home, stopping only to pick up what we would make for dinner that night. I likely walked around the store for 30 minutes looking for an idea that sounded appetizing or a quick fix that would require the least amount of effort to pull off. After completing the purchase and loading the groceries into the car, I took the shopping cart to the nearest cart return location. It was empty; the cart I used would be the only one if I returned it there. Without hesitation, I turned away and searched for the next closest cart return that already had some in the location.
“It has to have a friend.”
I didn’t realize what took place until after I got back to my vehicle and sat down.
“Did I REALLY just do that?”
I couldn’t contain the laughter that was exploding inside of me. My old friend, the lonely cow, was back, only this time, it was a shopping cart!
I’m sure we all have stories about strange habits that people do, but none were as ridiculous as this one, and “I” was the person doing it! In that moment, I wondered how long I was only returning carts to locations that were already occupied without even realizing my actions. Acknowledging this bizarre obsession did little to change it. Every time I went shopping, I absolutely refused to return the cart to an empty location. It was happening so frequently; it became a joke within my family.
“I had to put it by its friends,” I would say as I got back in the car.
We talked openly and laughed about how irrational the whole situation was.
“A shopping cart is an inanimate object; it has no feelings!”
“It’s a shopping cart, not a cow!”
“Does it really matter which cart return location you use?”
These days, it’s no longer “mission critical” that I leave the shopping cart with “friends,” but the thought is never far from my mind as I walk it to its destination. On occasion, just for laughs, I still seek out the nearest occupied location and leave the cart with others like it. If the store has mini-sized or specialty carts made just for kids, I make sure the one I return has a friend of its own to ensure it won’t feel rejected for being “different.”
Though it is still the most absurd habit that I have ever personally encountered, it hasn’t left a lasting negative influence on my life. In fact, it has taught me that it’s okay to laugh at myself once in a while; it’s okay to be silly. It also helped me to understand how quickly and significantly one event can impact a person’s life. I don’t think I’ll ever forget my old friend, the lonely cow; I certainly won’t forget how he changed my life without ever meeting face to face.
