Go ahead

Day 227

“Go ahead,” I say motioning towards the order line and taking a step back. 

“Are you sure?”  The girl asks.  I say girl but she’s probably in her early 20s.  A working woman on lunch break from a nearby office.  A woman in a perfectly pressed summer dress and a fashionable bag slung over her shoulders. 

“We don’t know what we want yet,” I say.  In truth, I don’t know where all my kids are.  One stands beside me and I hope the other two are checking out the new-age pop machine in the corner.  It’s the first day of summer vacation.  We’ve thrown away the schedules and are floating through the day. 

“Really?” She asks again. 

I want to tell her we may need to let the next three people pass before we get it together enough to order but don’t want to scare her. 

I remember being her.  A young working woman with a life plan.  What must she think of a disheveled mom with three boys who can’t seem to manage ordering lunch?  Does she think, “That won’t be me?”  

Life takes you on funny little detours that you never imagine.  As much as you plan, some things don’t come with a map.  Or instructions.  Thank goodness.