Yesterday, I went to the eye doctor to do my annual check. I’m happy to report that I’m 20/20 in both eyes. Somehow staring at all my screens has improved my eyesight instead of making it worse. The eye doctor also dilated my eyes to check for cataracts. Which meant that my lovely mother had to drive me home since my vision was extremely blurry. She needed to stop at Costco for a quick minute to pick something up, so I waited outside at the tables until she was done.

The sun was extremely bright so I put my head down and closed my eyes. Some older gentleman sat down next to me with his Costco pizza [YUM!], while he chattered away into his headset. I began eavesdropping on his phone conversation as I let my eyes rest. He was talking about his last visit to DC when he flew his parents out in first class and rented them a car so they could visit all the museums and memorials. He spoke of his trip for about 10 minutes with such vivid detail. I got so caught up in his conversation that I barely noticed my mom walking out of the store.

This made me think about all the times I sat, waiting for something, so wrapped up in my phone or my Kindle that I forgot to look around me. Forgot to eavesdrop a little. Forgot to people watch.

I get so much joy from watching others interact. I love looking around me and seeing relationships blossom, stories being told, and experiences being shared. And, lately, I’ve been wrapped up in my screens and my “phone world” that I haven’t been doing that. It’s probably more “socially appropriate” to get wrapped up in my own phone world instead of someone else’s phone call. But, it was a gentle reminder that idle time doesn’t necessarily mean I should pull out my phone and check the recent Facebook updates. Idle time can be just that. Idle time. Eavesdropping. People watching. Planting myself in the real world around me.

Questions of the Day:

• How do you spend your idle time?
  
• What do you order from the Costco food court?