Taking A Moment

I’m currently in Detroit on business and I’m excited about it, not only because of what I’ll be doing while I’m here but also because I’m only THREE! DAYS! AWAY! from visiting my sistuh-from-anuthuh-mutha AND because I have been workingworkingworking like crazy on all of my various jobs for the past ten days in order to be able to make my deadlines AND not have to worry much about work other than “maintenance-type stuff” during my two trips.

Shew. That was a long sentence. Actually, if you try and read it without taking a breath, you’ll have a teeny bit of an idea how it has felt to live my work life for the last ten days.

When I arrived at O’Hare yesterday, it was lunchtime. I figured I’d just grab something from McDonald’s because that’s what we typically do when we’re flying out. As I went through security though, I realized that usually I make flight reservations for O’Dark Thirty and McDonald’s is the only eatery that’s open so early. Yesterday, I had a variety of options!

I came upon Garrett’s Popcorn Shop first, and I grabbed a small bag of Chicago Mix (don’t worry; I paid for it!) for later. On the way to my gate, I found a place that was selling Chicago hot dogs and the decision was made.

The woman behind the counter asked for my order and as she prepared my Chicago dog just the way I like it (no onions, no sport peppers, definitely celery salt!) and then put it in a container so I could take it with me, I said something about just needing a Chicago dog on my way out of town. She smiled and asked me where I was from and I laughed. “Oh, I live here!”

Then it was her turn to laugh. She said, “I see you’ve got your Garrett’s, too. Chicago all the way, huh, honey?”

I replied, “Well, yeah.”

She said, “I call that ‘taking a moment’. You know what you want and you just need to take a moment to be with it and enjoy it.”

I smiled and thanked her as I walked away and to my gate.

She had no idea how much I really did need to take a moment, and that I had been looking forward to that moment for about ten days.

As I sat in the chair trying my best not to drip mustard all over my lap as I ate, the hustle-bustle of the airport magically disappeared, a sense of calm washed over me, and just for a moment I felt peace.