non-travel related musings :)
As I sit here enjoying lunch by myself, I notice that I really enjoy doing things alone. More than I thought I would. Don’t get me wrong, when I go out with others I truly enjoy their company and conversation. It’s just that when I’m with someone else, my attention is fully focused on them and I miss so many things going on around me. Today as I eat and observe, I am reminded of how things change. My goodness, how they change. An elderly couple coos over their granddaughter’s picture as another elderly man leans over and asks about her. They share about what a good baby she is, her mother’s first, and about how they will see her in just a few short months. The other man sadly smiles and says that he hasn’t talked to his children in years. An awkward silence and bowing of heads occurs, and then they go on to discuss a play that is coming to a theater around Christmastime. As I listen, I think about the things that are important to me. Then I think about the things that were important to me five years ago. Ten. Wow. Ten years ago I was on the verge of getting my driver’s license. I couldn’t wait for the freedom… I thought about was how I was going to pay for car insurance so I could drive, getting my biology homework done, whether I was going to start in that Friday night’s basketball game…
Now I have a mortgage. A house. An apartment, a pet, a full time job… bills, stocks, vacation time… a younger sister to help guide and take care of since we have both lost the one that guided us for so long. Wow. In ten more years, what will matter to me? In fifty?
At a table behind the elderly couple, a young couple with eyebrow and lip piercings and a brand new baby enjoy their soup. They talk about who will watch her that night so they can attend a party. Generations separate the scenarios, but what remains? Family. People we love.
I think I’ll go to lunch alone more often.
