18 or 81?

Rushing through KMart yesterday with an armload of stuff, I stopped in the card section to pick up a sympathy card for a friend who is grieving her mother's passing.  An aged gentleman in a worn straw hat held a birthday card with a large 18 on it in his hand.  He asked me if there were any number cards, and I slurred an "I don't see any," while fervantly looking for 'sympathy.'

He turned to me and said, "She's turning 81, and I found this 18, maybe she'll chuckle at my mistake."

I stopped in my tracks: This elderly gentleman not only had a fun sense of humor, he had a strong desire to make his lady laugh.  His wrinkled face held beautiful, twinkling blue eyes, and his hair had a sense of blond still through the gray.  He was alive, thinking, and caring  for someone else besides himself.

I learned a strong lesson about love and laughter and aging gracefully in that two minute exchange, and he doesn't even know it.