Half Hours Strung Together

Jana had already left for work and I was changing clothes to head to the rec center.  The phone rang and I almost didn't answer it.  I dashed to the office and picked up the receiver.  It was Jana.  She'd only been to work for 15 minutes.

"I left my bag of chips for our work luncheon on the kitchen counter.  Would you like to bring it to me?"


"Sure.  I'm headed for the rec center.  I can drop it off in a few minutes."


"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to bring it at lunch time and we could eat lunch together."


"That would work, too.  I'll see you at lunch."

After the rec center I dragged myself home and worked for a couple hours before my computer alarm told me it was time to go to lunch.  I microwaved my vegetables and brown rice and headed for the hospital central billing office (CBO).

Jana met me with a smile as I walked up to the door and she took the bag of chips from me.

"I'll take this in and will be right back."

When she returned she asked,

"Should we go into the hospital cafeteria or just eat in the van?"

The van it was.

As we sat Jana told me about the visitors touring the CBO as part of the preparation for the sale of the hospital to another owner.  She shared stories about some of the interesting women she works with and the triumphs and trials they each face.

The half hour came and went very quickly and she needed to get back to work.  But it's the small moments and opportunities like these, taken, created, that carry us over the sorrows, disappointments and uncertainties and on to the quiet victories and joys that give meaning to mortality.  It's the half hours, strung together with loving things and bound by hope, that give joy to the journey.

I'm just grateful that Jana is my traveling companion.

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IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO COMMENT ON ONE OF THE LOVING THINGS, SMALL OR GRAND, THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM SOMEONE IMPORTANT TO YOU.