A Man with No Feet

I was having a whiney, whingy day yesterday.  I was frustrated that work wasn't making a decision about my contract and as a result I sat around for ten and a half hours trying to look busy while in actuality having nothing to do.  Absolutely nothing.  There's only so much crap you can look at on the internet before you get to http://www.endoftheinternet.com/ or

The problem was I couldn't go do something.  I didn't have anything to learn or prepare.  No meetings, no emails to respond to, nothing.  I hate sitting and waiting.

By the end of the day I was in a pretty foul mood.  The fact that I had overdosed on both caffeine and sugar by four o'clock didn't help either.  I wisely cancelled my dinner plans and headed home as not to inflict my grumpy spell on anyone else.

When I got home my neighbor's son was pulling up.  He came over and asked for a ride to the shopping complex.  His mom had collapsed again and was at the hospital.  He'd come by to pick up something she needed and wanted to get the car.  I was eager to oblige.  She's always been a lovely person and great neighbor.  The medical issues have been recurrent and severe lately.  This was the fourth such fainting spell that led to hospitalization in recent months. 

As we made the three minute drive to get his mom's car, the son also told me that his son was in hospital with a 103 degree temperature and abdominal pain. He had gone from one hospital to another. I offered any help I could, which would include caring for his mom's cat that night, and wished him well when I dropped him off.

When I got back I took the dog for a walk.  On a path near our neighborhood park I walked toward a man who seemed a little twitchy.  He made a signal to look at him, then a stop action.  We both stayed on our path towards the other.  He asked "Who is behind me?" to which I replied "no one" which was true.  "Good, that's how I like it" he said with some relief. I was left wondering.

I got home and realized that I really couldn't complain.  There's a saying "I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet".  We all fight our own battles and demons.  As much as I didn't like my day yesterday, it couldn't been a lot worse. I didn't fight my frustration but I did feel some appreciation that mine were molehills, not mountains yesterday.