Bliss in the Breeze

For a moment, early this evening, as I stood at a packed bus stop alongside the after work crowd, waiting to begin the final leg of my commute home, I felt the pull to turn off a podcast, close my eyes and breathe. And in doing so, I was greeted by the warm, welcoming, perfect caress of the wind gliding upon my skin, causing everything in me to soften and further deepen my awareness of the moment. Felt like bliss 😊

Flashback at the Doctor's Office

Today was my first doctor visit with a new doctor, in a new office.

I was early and therefore had time to fill out the giant stack of forms.  A fellow waiting room patient joked it was practically like taking an exam in school with its multiple choice, fill in the blank and mini essay section. On my way back from handing it in, the same patient asked if I passed. I admitted to him I was granted the opportunity to take a section home as I didn’t have all the answers on me.  He replied with, “Homework!” And we both laughed 😄

Some minutes later, I looked over in time to see one of the attendants come out holding a folder. She went directly to the receptionist who had checked me in and pointed to something in the folder. Next thing I heard was the receptionist saying she couldn’t help and that she was on her own. 

Back in the day, whenever I started a new school or course that required the enrollees’ names being called out, I would always listen with such focus. As the instructor went through the names alphabetically, my attention would sharpen as we got closer to the the letter O. 100% of the time there would be a pause right before my name and before they could attempt it I would quickly put my hand up in the air and say, “Present!”

All those memories came rushing back in that moment as I sat there in the waiting room. It had been years since I’d been in that particular situation of having to listen for my birth name. But I knew the attendant and receptionist were afraid of pronouncing my first name incorrectly. Quickly I put my hand up in the air and called out to them saying I knew they were talking about me. The attendant looked over and took a stab. At my last name. Which she got right. I congratulated her. She looked relieved and we all laughed.

An Unexpected Delight

When I exit my home and begin my commute to work, I have one of three bus stops to choose to wait at for the first leg of my journey. When I got to the first one, I looked down the street for signs of my bus. Nothing. So I continued on. But a few steps later, I heard a voice call out, asking if I was waiting on the B41. I looked over to find I was speaking to a bus driver.  His wasn’t one of the buses that stopped on my route and I could tell his bus was technically not in service yet.  

I confirmed that I was indeed waiting on the B41. He then asked if I was headed to, “The Junction.” Ultimately, I was as that’s where I would make my first train connection. 

“Yes,” I called back out to him again. To which he replied, “Get in.  I’m headed in that direction.” 

This is the second time this has happened to me— being picked up by an off duty bus driver and taken to the next leg of my work commute journey. But even if it were my fifth, I feel I’d still be delighted by it!  I mean, I have the entire bus to myself and we’re going express to my next destination! 

So, I got onboard and I told him how grateful I was and how awesome it was of him to extend such kindness!  I then spent the bus ride alternating between, “This is so cool!” and asking questions to learn a bit about him. I learned that with his schedule, today was actually his first day of the work week—so effectively his Monday. I learned he used to drive school buses before his current gig with the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority).  He’d been driving for the MTA for about 8 years now. He was originally from DC. Had three children — two who lived in Marlboro, Maryland and a son in Miami, Florida who was a physical therapist. 

When he dropped me off, I once again shared how wonderful it was that he had extended this kindness and how he’d made my morning and that it was such a beautiful way to begin my commute. I wished him all the best. He smiled back at me, and one of the last things he said as I was stepping out was, “I wish you a wonderful life.”😊. Ditto Mr. Bus Driver Man! Ditto squared! 😊