Getting Back To It

Eleven years ago I started blogging as a form of therapy. I had just moved here to Missouri and knew no one, I mean NO ONE and more importantly, no one like me.

An L.A. to Las Vegas girl, all of a sudden plopped down in the heart of the Midwest? Yeah, you get the picture. So I started a blog to let my frustrations out. 

For the first few years it was a huge part of my life. I had made blogger friends - a few of which are still part of my life, and we shared blogger activities that I surely miss. Man-o-man, those were the days. 

But then things changed *heavy sigh* and I had to move with it. Blogger took a back burner to things like my full time job, side projects (graphic work, web page design and Tshirt making, to name a few) and even yes, Facebook until eventually, my posts and my desire to post became few and far between. 

But life is more comfortable now. The need to have ten things going at the same time isn't an issue any more and I think now, I can kick back in this chair and spew my thoughts and experiences all over the pages again, like I use to. 

So here we go. It took eleven years but I have come full circle :)

Misunderstandings

  So, Sunday afternoon I went to a small town cafe for the Buffet. It was pretty packed since it's Easter, so I knew seating could be a problem. But once inside, a waitress came forward to seat me right away.
  Cool! I thought. I don't have to wait! But then she walks me past a couple of empty tables to a dining area located in a third room, in the back of the cafe. In this very small room which had no window, was a family of 8 dining at a long table. About a foot behind one of the patrons was a tiny table and chair, where I was to sit.
  It didn't take long for me to feel really uncomfortable. I was practically seated at the same table with total strangers who all went dead silent, when I sat down. It was extremely awkward, to say the least. After the waitress left I noticed that if I were to take my coat off, I would literally clock the guy next to me in the back of the head. Yes, we were that close.
  So as I was contemplating how to get out of my coat without causing bodily harm to a stranger, the child in the group let out a blood curdling scream. The adults then turned up the volume on their conversation, to drown him out, I suppose, but soon it became maddening. Here I was, listening to private conversations while the child was having a total melt down.
  No way. I could not enjoy a meal like this.
So I got up and went walking through the cafe until I found an empty table, in the regular dining area. One which I have no idea why I wasn't seated at, to begin with.
  Just as I was digging in to my chicken breast, the family from the tiny room began to walk by to leave. If looks could kill, I would have choked on my chicken and collapsed right there.
  The last one in the family procession was an elderly woman who stopped at my table. She looked me in the eyes and said " Sorry you didn't want to eat with us. My great grandson has down syndrome and can't control his tantrums. We choose to ignore it but obviously, you couldn't".  Then she walked away.
  Well thanks for the guilt trip lady, I thought. I had no idea the child had DS; I never made eye contact with any of them and the child was not the main reason I left the room to find another table.
  So I ate my meal wishing the whole time, that I could explain to those people that I actually felt like I was encroaching on a private family gathering. Ugh.
  I wish people would take the time to see the bigger picture, before labling someone as insensitive.