An unfamiliar Christmas song rang from the dashboard as I pulled into a truck stop. After filling the tank, I walked inside the Pak-N-Sak. I soon found myself in line behind a woman shuffling a screaming two-year-old from arm to arm. 
          Her eyes were tired, but she managed a smile. “I’ll never be ready for Christmas,” she said.
                    She handed the clerk her credit card and was gone before I thought of offering to pay for her gas. I purchased a Snickers and a Coke, then walked back to my truck.
            Were there more children waiting at home? Was someone there to help share the burden?
              I was on my way to meet my niece, Christie, for lunch. I was not surprised when she was late...she and her husband, Mike, have four children. 
            “Sorry.”
            “No problem.
             “Big news. I switched jobs.” She glanced at the menu. “After seventeen years in retail,” she looked up, “I finally have evenings free.”
            “Good news, indeed.”
             I pictured her at home with the kids, a lighted tree in the background.
            “How do you do it?” I asked.
            She thought for a moment. “With love.”
            The light in her eyes brought me back to Pak-N-Sak.
            “I met your double today.”
             “A busy mother?”
            I smiled.
            “God love her.”
            “Amen!” I said.
 

(1) "O What a King," Katy Nichole