Waiting...

Today I waited.
In a waiting room.
A room just for waiting.

It was nicely appointed with big comfy chairs
by big glass windows
where I could stare out at the rain.

And stare I did.
And I drank cup after cup
of a hot chocolate-like drink
that came from a little pouch I put into a machine.
I don't know what it was, but it tasted great.

Usually I can be content
and quite pleased if I am given
several hours of solitude
with nothing to do but read
by a big window in a comfy chair on a rainy day
with hot chocolate to keep me company.

But today I was restless.
It was very disappointing, really.
So, I explored
and took pictures to entertain you,
gentle reader.

Here I am..
exploring.
Which is a nice way to say roaming the halls.

Here is a thingy from their tree.

The one I sat in front of

for most of the day.

See?
I said it was raining
and rain it did.
It poured and poured
and will pour all night and all day again.
So...
there I was....

kneeling outside the large glass doors
that marked the entrance to the room of waiting
aiming my hunk o' junk camera at the puddle,
lake, river that lay before me.
When I got that creeping sensation that I was being watched.
I slowly turned to catch the source
of my creeping sensation
and found a boy.
A boy that was looking at me as if I had lost my mind.

Granted, from the outside of my squat looking in
it must have seemed very strange indeed
to see a woman squatting at nose level to a rain puddle.
And I am sure that from behind he had no idea I held a camera.
The realization that I was indeed holding a camera
did nothing to quell the strangeness of the scene.
In fact, I believe from the troubled and concerned look on his face
it may have made the situation worse.

Where did the look of curiousity on an innocent child's face go?
When was it replaced by shrewd knowledge
and superiority?
At what age do youngsters become jaded these days?

Anyhoo..
I turned, stood and smiled at the young man
whose expression softened a bit.
A saw just a hint, a whiff
of curiousity in those eyes.
I explained myself
telling mostly the truth.. sort of.
I told the child that I had to take pictures
several days a week.
He blinked.
And I felt a need to defend myself.
"it is harder than you might think"
"you know, to find something to take pictures of so often."
That won me a slight smile and
some; if not understanding,
then acceptance.

Nothing soothes the savage beast
more than knowing that the other
person has weaknesses and troubles too.