"Girls Day Out" and other "Random Thoughts"

My dear friend from college has been trying to get me to go out for lunch for months. I finally told husband I was taking the afternoon for an outing. So we started with lunch at La Madelines. It was my first trip and I was loving it. They have the most scrumptious tomato soup. We then proceeded to hit the office supply stores. There is something about the disfunctional relationship between teachers and office supplies. After exhausting ourself there we went to the Container store, followed by a teacher's store, and ended up at the craft store Micheals. Before we reached our final destination, I was doing really well with the pocketbook. Things changed at Micheals. I ended up carrying out several pens, papers, stamps, and a cute scrapbooking caddy that I will use to put all my supplies in on the days I substitute teach. My friend and I had a great day and I came home energized. Upon my arrival at home, my husband and daughter bombarded me with questions about where their next meal was going to come from. I offered to take everyone out for kabobs but hubby said it was too pricy and told me to go and get some tacos. So no sooner did I arrive home that I had to jump back in the car and go on a food run. I was delayed by a train that was unusually long. I thought it a good opportunity to do some people watching. The girl in the car behind me was visably annoyed by the train. The police officer to the front right of me seemed to enjoy the trains passing. I was a bit conflicted at first. I wanted it to be a short train so I could be on my way. This impatience slowly changed upon observing the girl behind me. Due to her annoyance she finally picked up her cell phone and was very dramatic in her facial expressions as she told the person on the other line about her having to wait on the train. I began to wonder if people were looking at my expressions to guage what I was feeling. I finally decided to enjoy the cars as they moved down the track. I found all the grafitti to be quite interesting. I wondered what stories the train could tell if it could just speak. Where was it going and from where had it come? Did the conductor enjoy his travels? It truly brought a smile to his face as he leaned out of the engine and waved at the policeman sitting in his cruiser. In that moment did the child in both of them long for the adventures of the other? In all honesty, I was saddened as the last car rounded the final curve. The presence of the train in my life caused everything to stop. I was forced to sit there and wait. There was no where else to go. I could have drowned out the experience with my radio or felt compelled to pick up something to read. I opted to stay in the moment and experience it. I forced myself to look at those around me in an attempt to understand something of myself.