Happy Tuesday! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks inside my window keeping me from posting last week. After traveling more than sitting at home, I had what felt like jet lag–though I never saw the inside of an airplane–on top of allergies. I slept and slogged through last week.

I had good intentions though. I picked photos for the post, wrote my notes, but final revisions on the Poet Sisters’ book and the ordering of Kakalak poems had deadlines within hours of each other. A post didn’t fit inside the deadlines.

So, I’d planned on catching up this weekend … then ended up spending eight hours in the ER waiting room with Hubby. Thankfully he’s fine, but it was a long day of sitting. Which is where today’s post comes from. We became part of an unplanned community.

We arrived at the ER around 11:30 in the morning, and if you’ve ever been in an ER waiting room, you know it’s often inhabited by a ‘motley crew’ from all walks of life, from all age and socio-economic demographics, and across the political spectrum–like most of our towns and neighborhoods. Hubby was triaged and back in the waiting room before I had the car parked. Then we sat.

In our section, there were 7 recliners for patients, and I had the one metal stacking chair.  A few of the recliners were occupied but there were just as many people waiting in wheelchairs. ‘How long have you been here?’ was the way of introduction. Looks of admiration, disbelief, or irritation were the responses, along with head shakes and eye rolls, glances at watches, and pulling out phones. We were a motley crew, but we had our waiting in common, and we watched over each other.

There were two sections of waiting areas divided by the reception desk. When a nurse came out and called the next patient, we collectively made sure the nurse and patient connected, even across the divide. ‘He’s sitting over there.’ ‘She just went to the bathroom.’

I kept an eye on an elderly woman in a wheelchair, and each of three times notified the staff when her oxygen tank emptied. When they finally came and got her, after seven hours, the rest of us cheered and clapped. You would’ve thought she was a queen the way she waved goodbye, laughed, and smiled as the nurse rolled her to the back.

A man probably in his sixties with obvious physical and some cognitive issues, was waiting for a cab to take him home. Had been waiting. At least an hour and a half. Another patient’s daughter walked him to the reception desk to again check on the progress of his ride. Their response was a little kinder with her standing there. He was still there when we left, in conversation with the daughter. I heard her tell him she’d make sure he got home, and I have no doubt that she did. Even if it meant driving him home herself.

While Hubby and I sat there, I kept thinking of the sign from my Poet Sisters retreat, and mentally I added a line – See the good.

It reminded me a little of playing hide-n-seek with my Grands. When we know who we’re looking for, we keep looking until we find them. They’re still small enough to find undiscovered hidey-holes. Papa and I mostly end up hiding behind doors. In our games we never give up and never call ‘Ollie, Ollie, all in free!’

I think the same holds true for finding the good. If we keep looking for it, we’ll see it. We tend to find what we’re looking for. I’m not so naïve to believe the world is all rainbows, sparkles, and unicorns but I also believe what’s in the headlines doesn’t tell the whole story.

Over the weekend, some pain brought each of us into the ER waiting room, but in spite of our individual distress, there were no outbursts of anger, no threats to staff or other patients. (Granted, some of us left without ever getting past triage, but even those instances were met with the quiet removal of IV lines and apologies from the staff for the wait.) Instead throughout the day there was a ripple effect of good in this unplanned community. May we continue to look for, see, and be the good in the communities we live in.

The community I live in is experiencing its annual August heatwave when, if the temps drop below 95, we call it a ‘cool day’. Today might be one of those at 94. Fall is right around the corner … at least it is at the local grocery store and the Dollar Tree with all the Halloween candy and décor out. But air conditioning doesn’t take the place of open windows and brisk autumn air. I’m ready for it.

As I write this, my Midwest home is experiencing horrific rains, flooding, wind, and tornados. My continued prayers for those of you hunkering down and watching the skies. May you be safe.

I’m thiiiiis close to being finished with Poet Sisters and Kakalak work, so I plan to be back at my window on Monday … but life gets crazy sometimes. I hope your week is a good kind of crazy.