Here I Am

I wasn't supposed to be here. 

Today was like any other as we rushed out the door and I felt a sense of relief,  perhaps even a bit of arrogance that despite the morning obstacles we had made it to school on time! But where were all the cars? There were some cars, but not nearly enough. Oh No, I thought. Today was teachers in service day and I hadn't realized it. I woke up early and drove 45 minutes for no reason at all. 

We came to McDonald's because I couldn't stomach the idea of turning around and heading home having accomplished nothing.

So here I am at McDonald's where I can barely think because it's so loud. 

Here I am at McDonald's watching my kids at the peak of happiness. 

Here I am knowing my computer's battery will be dead in about 15 minutes and then what? 

Here I am listening to a guy tell me about a murderer from Texas who was a normal kid until he got a cochlear implant at 8 years old and that's when he began the desire to kill people. I thought I had heard it all. I will google that story next.

Here I am nervous about participating in 5 minute Friday for the first time because I am not very comfortable writing with a time limit.

But most importantly I am here having just said goodbye to a kind lady with children close to my kid's age. I listen to her story and she listened to mine. We shared contact information and she gave me some leads on apartments, schools, and job opportunities in the area which she scribbled onto a piece of notebook paper for me. We even hugged. 

Maybe I was supposed to be here. 

This post is a part of 5 minute Friday where everyone writes about the same topic for 5 minutes. Today's prompt was "here".