The Bird Lady

Working in a store during the summer with no air conditioning is absolutely miserable. On top of that, having to deal with un-happy customers, constantly answering the phone, and trying to finish nonstop paper work is also miserable. Miserable is the perfect word to describe my job. The only thing that’s not miserable is punching out at the end of the day. Working over 50 hours a week is exhausting and if you ask me I’ll tell you straight forward how much I hate my job.
Once in a while I’ll get some of those “lonely” customers that just talk my ear off and I don’t really mind it, but my favorite customer is the bird lady. I could tell you everything you want to know about the bird lady except her name. Each morning she waits for the Gatra Bus outside of the nursing home down the street to drive her to my work. She always looks the same; solid color dress, dry gray hair pulled back in a tight bun, and a floppy hat covered in flowers. She walks with a small wooden cane and walks with a limp on her right leg.
Every morning the Gatra Bus arrives at 9:15, drops the bird lady off, and waits patiently outside for her. The reason why I call her the bird lady is because every morning she comes in and buy one birdhouse. “The birds are my friends”, she tells me, “They don’t talk back to me only sing.” The first time I ever met this woman she told me that it makes her happy to paint these birdhouses and make a home for the birds. After purchasing her birdhouse, with cash as always, the bird lady limps her way back on the bus and leaves, only to return again in the morning.
I only see the bird lady in the summer time. The winter is her time to hibernate, she once told me. Even though I dread going to work every morning, I still enjoy my short talks with the bird lady. Now it’s winter, and the store is calm. I sometimes think about the bird lady, wondering how she’s doing or what she’s thinking. In a way the bird lady has inspired me, inspired me to think outside the box. I now see the world a bit differently. I now take notice in the little things in life. And now, every time I see a bird I think of the bird lady. My only regret is never knowing her real name.