The waiting room

Today I took Riley in to get weighed. He has been such a little guy for a very long time that my doctor wants to make sure he continues to grow. I was supposed to take him in last month but I got a little busy and didn't do it. Today he weighed in at a whopping 23.8 pounds! He is still pretty small for his age group, but is finally catching up with everyone else. 


While we were waiting to get seen (we just walk in to the doctor's office to weigh in) there was a little boy named Jordan reading a book on a love seat-type chair. We sat on the love seat chair that was back to back with Jordan's. He had some tousled hair that looked as though he had just woken up. (It was shortly after 11 am, so I wonder if he is taking advantage of summer and sleeping in late, or if he just really doesn't care about his hair. Being probably 7 or 8 and a boy it could have been either.) There is some anxiety that comes along with chatting with folks in a Doctor's office waiting area. Thoughts like "does this person have the flu?" or "are they being treated for shingles?" permeate my brain. So, I was a little hesitant to get friendly with young Jordan. I guess I should add, that when we were waiting in line to check in, Jordan smiled and waved at Riley and asked if Riley was Irish (because he was wearing an Ireland soccer shorts set). I could tell Riley wanted to meet Jordan, because he kept pulling me toward him.  He is really into interacting with other kids, it is cute to see him admire other kids. So that is why I chose to sit by Jordan. I knew I would have to keep getting up to get Riley, because he would go over to Jordan no matter what. 


Jordan closed his book and set it aside to talk with us. From our short interaction I learned that Jordan has a 3 year old little sister, he likes soccer and is obligated to like the Sounders but also likes some European teams as well, he shares my birthday (March 23rd), was going to be named Riley but was named after Michael Jordan instead(who's number is 23). Riley is big into waving right now and saying "bye" or "hi" to anyone going or coming, and one person got pulled back to their appointment, and he stood up and waved "bye" just a chattering away. Jordan commented on how much he was talking, and stated his 3 year old sister was talking about as much as he was. I told him that every child learns at their own pace, and he agreed that this was true. But I got the impression that he was saying that to make me feel good. Jordan just has this aura of calm around him. Seriously, I'm not generally all that friendly to people I meet. Especially while sitting in a Doctor's waiting room. Every breath could be filled with germs I don't want to meet. Every touch could cause a fever and stomach flu. You really just don't know. But there was something about little Jordan, who seemed wise beyond his years. Who knew a twenty-something, mother of one could sit down and chat comfortably with an 8 year old in a doctor's office waiting room?


I glanced at the title of the book as we were leaving, and noticed it was SEAL Team Six : Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper. Really quite a grown up book for such a young man. I wish I had stayed and waited with Jordan for his mom to come out. At least, I assume he was waiting for his mom. I didn't ask, as it wasn't really my business. But I wish I had stayed and told her what a wonderful young man she is raising. He must be such a wonderful big brother to his sister, as I watched him interact with Riley, I wished that he was Riley's big brother. He entertained us both. He played with Riley's helicopter while holding a conversation with me. He had us both in his little hand. I wish I would have stayed and told her all of these things, but, I'm sure she already knows. (At least for Jordan's sake, I hope so).