These Are My JOTtings, Part #2

Peaceful Moments of Quiet

Here we are on Day #2 of taking stock of my surroundings.

I'm sitting in Panera Bread, enjoying free Wifi, while Jade Amber Jewel is taking her second day of the end of year tests at the specified testing site.
1. The day is still fairly young with the restaurant, being fairly empty, but a group of three nicely-dressed business types just sat at a table diagonally to my right. Their mannerisms are professional, but the man, who is apparently in charge has a voice to match his personality. His voice carries. I had to turn up the volume in my earbuds two notches.
2. The ordering desk is firmly to my right with the regular banter of orders being made. The anticipation of breakfast is joyful.
3. The party of three businessmen has settled into a steady clickety-clack of conversation, that reminds me of a train rumbling down the tracks.
4. I'm sitting in a two-person booth with my back to a large partition. I guess it's just my preferred comfort zone, but I like to have my back next to a solid object when I'm out in public. I'm not much for people sneaking up behind me. Besides, I'm alone in this booth. I have no one to watch my back.
5. The three businessmen have left almost as quickly as they arrived. Apparently, ten minutes was more than enough time for breakfast. It's time to "get down to business."
6. One man munches on his breakfast sandwich at a booth just beyond the table, where the three businessmen were sitting. He sits quietly enjoying the moment with jaw muscles regularly prancing in place. (He just left, too. Apparently, I'm the only one, who has chosen Panera for a morning office.)
7. A man around the corner of the room in the very next table just got up to leave. I didn't even know he was there since he was so quiet.

I must say, that this environment is my preferred situation for writing. I can occasionally write in a noisy environment, like yesterday when all of the noises seem to cancel out each other, but over my past two, (nearly three) years as a member of Writing.Com, I have been willing to spend many nights writing, until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning for the sheer pleasure of writing in the relative peace of a sleepy house to the tune of quiet Christmas music.

Apparently, I'm not by myself. There are sets of hours at a time on the weekend, when I'm at my laptop in our large walk-in closet, (that provides me great moments of solace,) Jade Amber Jewel is in her room writing, reading or both, and her Mom/my wife is on the couch, scrolling through one of her many websites or reading a book.

It's not that we're antisocial types. We're just creative. We enjoy spending time with friends and family, like going out to eat and to the movies together, but we need alone time in order to recharge our emotional "batteries." I offer these times to my ladies and they offer these to me as the gift of what we most need at the time.

8. Two ladies, who are no doubt quite good friends, situated themselves in the large booth next to me in the otherwise empty restaurant and started to have a joyful conversation. I had to pick up all my things to move to the other end of the dining room just to finish this blog post. Even through my music in the earbuds, I can still hear the low rumble of their conversation in the background, probably 30-40 feet away. There was no canceling out effect today. Their words were quite clear in the next booth. I hoped they didn't see me relocate because I didn't want to be rude, but I have difficulty writing in the presence of clearly-understood speech and songs with words. Instrumental music is my consistent curtain of "white noise."

Isn't it interesting how we humans respond in different scenarios of life?

I was tempted to be put out with the loudly talking ladies, but "the shoe has been on the other foot" at times that I was in the presence of my dearest friends on Earth. It's a little hard to talk softly when the adrenaline of JOY is fully coursing through your veins.

My writing is important! Others should be respectful of that fact!. However, I'm not always respectful of others' need to write when I'm in a joyful mood with my friends.

The easiest answer to the offense of this sort is to change the environment. This allows me to keep writing, while the joyful friends continue to enjoy their time together as well.

Keep going, Jay! You're still growing up. You'll get there one day.

by Jay O'Toole
on April 30th, 2019