Unremarkable

I slept a little late. I worked on documents from home. I went in to take a few meetings. It was a rather unremarkable day.

I walked out of my office, tugging the door securely closed behind me and adjusting the strap of my bag on my shoulder. I was wondering if I should get take out for dinner or make something at home, thinking that I still had a presentation to finish and manual to proofread when I stopped to grin at a man standing in the main corridor.

“Mark!” I greeted him with sincere pleasure.

He reached to give me a half hug and we exchanged pleasantries and offered sympathy over minor miseries before beginning to chat about work. Adam and another member of my team stopped nearby to finish their conversation.

I mentioned to Mark that Adam had a question for him, making a move toward the exit after rubbing his shoulder in farewell.

“Wait, Katie,” Mindy called. “I have a quick question for you.” So I stopped, noticing our group of four had realigned to exchange conversational partners. The chatter continued – professional but pleasant – until another pair of people arrived. They divided to join our respective conversations, providing two neat groups of three.

I watched people move as topics drifted, the other conversation reaching our ears and distracting us from our own topics at hand. It’s like a kaleidoscope, I thought, as people shifted, reorienting themselves in an optimal way.

“I’m going home,” I finally said to Mindy and she waved before heading back to her desk. I took two steps backward, smiling over my colleagues, before twisting to stride toward my car. The bag came off my shoulder and was tossed on the passenger seat when I arrived and I took a different route home to complete my commute.

“I’m very pleased,” Adam concluded an earlier meeting about my progress and performance. “Happy I hired you!” I grinned when he nudged me with his shoulder.

And, while unremarkable, it’s always a good day when I realize I’m happy I’m here.