what i was going to write...

so this was going to be my post about running the half-marathon (spoiler alert -- it was great, and the post is coming).

but then my day started and work was not awesome. understatement.

then after gymnastics lessons, malena and i headed to dinner. they said a 15 minute wait. that turned into a 30 minute wait. but it was busy, and i have worked in restaurants before, so i get it. when we got seated on the patio, i thought to myself we were good -- it is a gorgeous night, perfect to be in a patio and we will order soon.

that was a mistake.

20 minutes go by without a server even coming to our table. not even to say hello or i-am-so-slammed-i-can't-keep-up-and-i-will-be-with-you-as-soon-as-i-can-so-i-am-begging-you-to-please-take-pity-on-me. and because i have worked in restaurants, i would have rolled with it. working on the patio as a server is great and it is hell. great because you are outside, hell because you have to go inside to do anything and so everything takes way more time than it should.

long story short, we eventually do get food...one hour and 15 minutes after we walked into the restaurant. but her and i do word puzzles, talk about her graduation this friday, she gives me a preview of some of the songs, we talk about dessert she wants to have, and i worked my frustration down to a dull roar by the time we leave. i even leave him a good tip because i could tell today was pretty much a hell day for him. no need to make it worse then it already was for either of us.

we then move on to target.

that was a mistake.

we had 12 items and because i don't like it when people who really should not be in the express lane (i.e., ten items or less) go through that lane and therefore no longer allow it to be "express" for the rest of us, i go to a regular line.

that was a mistake.

i am in line for about 10 minutes as the cashier helps the two people in front of me. then -- wait for it, wait for it -- the cashier turns her "i need help" flashing light on. dammit. after another 5 minutes, with the cashier standing there just waiting for a manager to come and take pity on her and fix the problem, i move to another line (because at some point today i actually wanted to stop waiting and go home).

that was a mistake.

why you ask? oh yes, i am going to tell you. because the person in front of me (who i assumed would make my time waiting short since she didn't have too many items) tells the cashier that her purchases need to be separated into three separate transactions. this is the point where i just about lose it. but i then see that her first purchase is baby formula with food stamps and i take a deep breath. she obviously has to separate her purchases for a reason, and all i have to do is wait. so i tell myself to get over it, and get comfortable, because clearly i will be waiting again.

when her purchases are done, malena and i roll up to the cashier. after a minute, i look down and i see a $5 bill on the ground.

so i leave the cashier while he rings me up, chase down the woman who was in line before me, and as you might imagine she was super thankful that i gave it back to her.

after what feels like about two hours, malena and i finally leave target.

that was not a mistake.

as we do, i think about the incredible amount of time we spent waiting on food and in line at target. then i think about the $20 i found laying on an empty sidewalk after my nephew's graduation on sunday. when i picked that up, there was no one to return it to, so i told myself that i would pay it forward.

i decided that all of the waiting in line was just the universe's way of telling me that i was intended to find the $5 and return it to the lady, instead of pocketing it like many people would have without anyone else noticing the difference. except for her when she realized she didn't have the money and it was already long gone.

so sometimes life comes full circle. sometimes it feels a little painful and long to get there, but it eventually comes around.

i think that in most cases, like the smile and gratitude from the woman who the $5 was clearly so important to, the wait is worth it.