by Bethany Spanier

Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment that I showed up to on time at the start of their afternoon yet still had to wait 20 minutes before getting seen. So as I sat in a much-too-quiet waiting room, I chose to not bury my nose in a magazine but instead try to notice the people around me. I first noticed that I was the only patient in the waiting room, so I noticed the receptionist.

She was a brown-eyed girl in her twenties with long dark hair. She wore blue scrubs and had a nice manner with people on the phone. She hadn’t quite finished her lunch as I could hear the crunch of chips behind the wall she would retreat to to grab a quick bite. She looked coworkers in the eyes when she spoke with them and the patients as well as they finally started to file in.

I had to take rather quick glances because she was mindful of my presence in the waiting room as well and I was trying to avoid that awkward mutual glance … the one when you both accidentally look at each other at the same time without meaning to and then with embarrassment, quickly revert your eyes back the floor.

As other patients sat down, I noticed them as well. The silence was never broken by any of us and felt similar to standing quietly in an elevator with people. But at least for 20 minutes of my day I was intentionally thinking of and noticing others – giving my mind a break from the hours of thought revolved around myself =)