Lessons Learned (Maybe Re-Learned)

My mind has been swirling with myriads of thoughts from the last few days.  I'll likely forget most of them before I'm through but I'll give it a shot - in no particular order.

Kindness (Nice) matters.  Still and always.  I have often wondered this week how people can turn the nice on and off so quickly.  Does that mean it's less sincere?

I've learned that if you're in a courtroom / hearing setting you basically have no friends.  It would be well to remember the situation is akin to paddling furiously amongst the piranhas.  Piranhas are not friends.

If you're not an attorney in a room filled with attorneys you're basically just fluff floating around.

I unexpectedly liked the food at the Himalayan.  (I think they tone it down for non-Indian eaters.)

$15 / day for parking for 9 hours was barely tolerable.  $15 for the day comprised of 14 hours was more acceptable.  Tax deductible?  Doubtful.

Haven't yet figured out why anyone would go into a profession that's so fraught with tensions and adversarial behavior.

Was gifted (as a thank you) this lovely red velvet cupcake.  Almost too pretty to eat.  Almost.

Knowing a meeting might go into the wee hours would have prompted me to make sure the air conditioning was working and ON.

Patience is a virtue in extremely short supply.  Wondered if the supreme example of patience I witnessed was natural or if he worked on it.  He was amazingly patient.  Tactful as well.

It is always interesting to me how much one can learn by just sitting still.  I guess somehow I must have been even more invisible than usual.  I could almost repeat one story verbatim I heard it so many times. Also witnessed behavior more appropriate to teens than professional adults.  Mocking, derision, and condescension have no place in interaction with others. But that's just my thoughts.

My favorite first grader was anxious to show me his new lunchbox and new gray/turquoise shoes for school.  The immediate and welcome hugs we received from those grandchilluns were heartwarming after a tedious and difficult day.  We needed that uplift.

Picture book shared also lifted my spirits.

Missing several mornings on the trail led to increased enjoyment of today's outing.  5 miles of peace watching the day wake was balm not only to my soul but also to my body.

Meeting My Love on the last leg of my walk:  pure joy.

Today I'm feeling  gratitude for several things:  for being able to text - across the hearing room, with kids at home, with kids far away, with people who just want to keep in touch - I love that connection. I'm also grateful for a (rare for me) bottle of cold, cold chocolate milk, for being able to pour out in prayer my concerns, for people who don't forget how to be kind, for our local grocery that waited to suspend the $.05 cent credit on bringing your own bags to the grocery until I'd made enough on that credit to pay for the bags, and that tomorrow is August.  (My almost least favorite month is ending and with it the knowledge that cooler weather is more than a distant hope.)  And I'm grateful for hope.