Wasted Time

One of the most pervasive metaphors in society is that time is a commodity.  You've heard it over and over again- time is money.  Time is traded.  We borrow time from one activity for another.  We spend our time wisely.  We invest our time in things important to us.  You never have enough time and it is precious and shouldn't be wasted.

A great deal of my time today was wasted.  We woke up early after a sleepless night of anticipating Brett's first chemo treatment.  We got on the road and drove more than 90 minutes fighting the wind to get to Fort Collins.  Then, we were a bit frustrated that we arrived early and had time to kill.  We waited in the waiting room. We sat and waited after Brett was prepped for chemo only to be told that an error had been made and the drug he needed was not ordered and he would need to return tomorrow.  We took time to drive across town to the Whole Foods grocery store and then made our way back across town for a quick lunch only to realize we had to be across town the other direction again to pick up an order.  We finally got on the road home, drove another 90 plus minutes and arrived home too late to really go into work and get much accomplished.

Yep- lots of wasted time.... Or was it?....

Brett and I woke up early and smiled at each other and gave each other a hug and kiss.  Brett brought me coffee while I got ready.  We were up early enough to see both of our children and touch base with them before their busy day.  And, I wasn't working so I put on some of my nicer sweats and tennis shoes- Aaah.

We got in the car and I had to put on my sunglasses to see through the sunshine pouring in the car.  We marveled at the snow capped mountains and Brett pointed out a beautiful hawk on a fence post.  We listened to the news and talked about current events.  We listened to the 70's and 80's channels and reminisced.

We arrived early in Fort Collins so we stopped by a friend's work and gave her a big hug and said hello.  She is an amazing gift to our family and she promised to send us across the street with prayers.

While waiting in the waiting room of the Cancer Center a woman came out of the treatment room and sat next to Brett.  I recognized her immediately as one of my favorite college professors.  I called her name and we visited a bit.  I'm pretty sure she didn't remember me from the 80's but she was gracious.  When her daughter came out of the restroom to get her I told her she had formed the teacher I had become and she was a lifechanger.  She teared up and gave me a warm hug and thanked me for the kind words.  It was a beautiful exchange. 

We went into the treatment room and waited for a nurse manager to sheepishly tell us that she had made a terrible error and had not ordered Brett's medicine.  And, I saw the change in her demeanor when Brett extended beautiful grace in a way only he can.  He gave her a gift today.  She was embarrassed and felt so badly and Brett eased that with loving grace and humor.  She didn't maliciously forget to order the medication.  She made a human error and owned it. We appreciated and understood being human ourselves.

We went to Whole Foods and stocked up on their fresh ground honey roasted peanut butter- I think it is the eighth wonder of the world.  We laughed as we went down the cheese aisle three times to get samples of cheeses and almonds.

We went to lunch and laughed at our lousy luck and enjoyed some amazing fish tacos- Brett's favorite.

While at lunch we remembered that we were instructed to pick up an order on the other side of town and we made our way back to collect a yummy edible bouquet from my brother and sister in law.  It included a lovely poem from our niece and nephew about chemo and love.

I came home and ran into my office to deliver a tub of the amazing peanut butter to a fellow fan and she smiled and we visited.  Human connections are so beautiful.

I now have an entire hour of quiet downtime away from my office and work demands.  And, my husband isn't sick tonight as he was supposed to be so we will go to the gym and walk and enjoy an evening together.

Time wasted- I think not.  Had we not made that trip today so many opportunities to touch lives and have our lives touched would have been missed.  It simply confirms my long held belief that there are no accidents and coincidences.  I'm glad to be part of a larger plan- wish I could see the reasons most of the time- but glad to be part of it all the same.