Those Wonderful Waiting Rooms
In my last post I talked about something that everybody but me loves - games. Today I’m going to switch lanes and talk about something that I like but virtually no one else does - doctor’s office waiting rooms. You probably think you’ve misread that. You didn’t. No one likes that long wait to see a doctor. It’s not at all unusual to hear people who have just returned from a doctor’s appointment complain endlessly about sitting in that waiting room for heaven only knows how long. Whether it’s 15 minutes or two hours, they just don’t like it. I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoy it.
It all started when I was a young, hard-working mother of three. I would walk into a doctor’s office waiting room, grab a seat, take a deep breath, aaannnd RELAX. No chores to do, no phones ringing, and no one pulling at me. It was all on hold. I could get comfortable in pleasant surroundings and actually read a magazine, something for which I normally never had the time. It was great. If the article was a particularly good one, and my name got called in the middle of it, I would just sit back down in the waiting room when I was done seeing the doctor and read the rest of it.
I still don’t mind waiting rooms, although they don’t seem to have as many good magazines anymore. They’ve been replaced by large flat-screen TVs bolted to the wall so that all of us patients can view programming that teaches us how to do things like cook, garden, and renovate our homes. It’s a bit like being in a classroom. It’s useful information I’m sure, but I miss the articles. They were a wealth of information. Having problems with your hair and makeup? They’ve got tips. Struggling with your love life? They’ll get you through it. Planning a birthday party? You’ll find a thousand suggestions. Trust me. If you’ve got magazine articles, you’ve got answers.
My next doctor’s appointment is coming up soon, and I’ve already carved out a significant amount of time. I’m not dreading it. It’s not an imposition. I’ll just relax when I get there and whether there is a TV or a magazine waiting for me, I’m sure I’ll learn something.