A Day of Surprises

It's hard to say what surprised me more today, the afternoon snowfall that I'd heard no mention of or the absolute oddity of the thirty minutes I spent in the allergist's office.

The snow was a nice surprise. The flakes were pretty big at times and did a fabulous job of giving the drab trees a little pop. Is there anything more beautiful than a bare tree with a new coating of fresh fallen snow? Today, there was not.

Oh yeah, and then the allergist's office. Timing is everything with that kind of visit. I usually try to get there by 3:15 in the afternoon. That allows me to get there before most of the elementary school kids. Really, it's not the elementary kids that are so bad; it's the whiny younger siblings. Either the pre-school types are there for their own shots and not happy about it or they are bored out of their minds waiting for someone else to get a shot. Either way it usually isn't a pretty, or quiet, scene.

I didn't get to the office until almost 4:00 today, well past what I know to be the best time. Sure enough I was greeted as I walked towards the door by a gal a bit older than myself who was on her way out.

"It's getting crowded in there," she warned.

My smile fell a bit and I shrugged my shoulders, "Oh well, I guess I'll be here awhile."

I was surprised to see at least 3 empty chairs. For a second the passerby's warning confused me, it didn't seem crowded at all.

And then I understood. There was a father with his 2 or 3 year-old son sitting on his lap. They had a book open in front of them and the father was reading him the story of The Three Little Pigs.

I'm used to parents reading to their children in the waiting room, and it usually doesn't bother me at all...but this guy did.

I can only think he had no idea how loud he was reading, because his voice was what this teacher would refer to as definitely not an "inside voice."

I paged through a magazine of the 50 best local restaurants trying my best to ignore the strains of all the huffing and puffing. I was doing okay with it all, really I was, until Loud Father reached for his phone.

"Oh look, Mommy called us and we missed the call. Should we call her back?" he questioned.

I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. He proceeded to make the call using the speakerphone option. Myself and everyone else in the office got to hear his conversation with his wife that included an update on the road conditions (they were fine) and the proud announcement that his son had a big day. He had gone poopey in the potty for the first time. He was now a real, big boy!

It was then I reached for the headphones in my purse and tuned way out.