January 15, 2008

• Waiting Room

  The small waiting room at my doctor’s office was packed.  I sat down in the only remaining chair and
  settled in for the long wait.  I stifled
  my cough and took my book out to read.  A
  small black cloud slowly formed over my head as I tried vainly to ignore
  everyone else. 

  There was a family with a small girl slowly getting
  ready to leave.  The mom and dad were still
  chatting with another woman.  The girl
  was probably just under 2 years old with an easy smile and bright, cheery eyes.  She  walked around the waiting room and
  gradually laid down on the carpet.  The
  dad picked her up, brushed off her sweater and chuckled.  But every time he put her back down on her
  feet, she would simply lie down on the floor and didn’t want to get up.  The mom mentioned in a somewhat embarrassed
  voice that the girl was tired because she missed her afternoon nap.

  The dad tried to pick her up again but she reacted like a crab
  turned upside down.  Her arms and legs
  were frantically swatting away any attempts to pick her up.  Finally in a mock exasperated voice, the dad
  told the girl that they were leaving. 
  But she wasn’t having any of this. 
  One of the women laughingly remarked, “She’s got daddy around her little
  fingers.”  Her dad took out his camera
  and took a couple of pictures.  He turned to
  the lady and said, “When she’s grown up, we’ll show her how naughty she
  was.”  After a few minutes, everyone was
  ready to leave and the girl reluctantly agreed to go home.  She also knew she was the centre of attention
  and waved goodbye to everyone including the receptionist. 

  There was also another young boy perhaps a bit older.  He stayed closed to his mom while the girl
  took center stage.  Her mom had
  everything for him in his stroller from snacks, water, books, toys and extra
  clothing.   After the girl left, he
  wandered from his mom’s lap and went for the toys in the waiting room.  He wasn’t shy at all.  He took out some toys and handed it to a
  lady.  She chuckled, put her book down
  and said thank you to the little boy.  She
  looked at the boy’s mom and said “It’s been awhile since I’ve played with toys.  I don’t have any grandchildren yet.”   I was hoping he would come over but I also
  didn’t want to infect him with whatever I had. 
  Soon, it was the boy’s turn to go in. 
  The father decided to wait outside. 

  After a minute or two, everyone could hear the boy loudly crying.  When he finally came out, he had a grim,
  serious look on his face and a lollipop in each hand. 
  The mom told the father that the boy tried to make a run for the door
  when the doctor was looking for the syringes. 
  This got a chuckle out of everyone in the waiting room.  They soon left with the boy still clutching
  on to his lollipops and waving goodbye to the receptionist. 

  While the kids made the wait a bit more bearable, it was an
  older lady who left a stronger impression.  She was probably in her early 60’s.  She came out of the doctor’s office with a
  younger lady who looked like her daughter. 
  The older lady hobbled slowly to a chair with the help of a cane and sat
  down near me.  Her fingers were beginning
  to be gnarled with arthritis.  Her left
  arm appeared to be paralyzed.  She looked
  tired and exhausted by the whole ordeal. 
  Her clothes were simple and I wondered if it was enough to ward off the
  cold winds of winter.  Her daughter came
  back from the receptionist after booking her next appointment.  The mom quietly repeated the date and
  nodded.  She painfully pulled herself up
  with her daughter’s assistance.  She
  shuffled to the door and they quietly left. 
  

  My own ailments don't seem that bad anymore.

  • 11:58 PM
  • 17 Comments