everyone is just waiting...

It is amazing what one will do to pass time in a waiting place. You know, those places where you have to wait for something or someone. Like in Oh the Place You'll Go by Dr. Seuss.

"Waiting for "the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil,
or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls,
or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls,
or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting."

A place or a time like that. I spent quite a bit of time in the waiting room and in the exam room of our family doctor today. My daughter had a well baby visit in the morning and my husband had an appointment in the afternoon, but the main thing I did was entertain the baby. We played "Row Your Boat" and "Round and Round the Garden." We pretended to feed her stuffed cat Teddy Grahams. We looked at fish in the fish tanks and we looked at pictures in a Reader's Digest. Anything to keep her happy and occupied. We did not make it through the whole time. She melted down and threw a tantrum at the later appointment, but like I said, it is interesting to see what people do to pass the time.

Some people "people watch". Others read books. Some do word or number puzzles and others play with their phones or hand held games. Some people just stare off into the distance and look morose. But the people who I find most entertaining are those who try to entertain their children. That is creativity at its finest.

This weekend I had the opportunity to try to entertain 3 girls. Two were 5 years old, and one was 8. We played Huckle Buckle Beanstalk. A game I learned as a child. It's kind of like hide and seek, but for a smaller environment. You hide a small object in plain sight and the group goes looking for it. It cannot be behind something or inside something unless you can see it without moving or touching anything. We hid a McDonald's toy. The girls went into the kitchen while I hid it in the living room or dining room and then they came out to look for it. When they spotted it, they were supposed to go sit on the couch and say "Huckle Buckle Beanstalk" and the others had to try and find it. After everyone found it (with warmer and colder or other clues as needed) we took turns hiding it. Of course sometimes they would pick the object up when they found it and there was a lot of giggling, but it was a fun game all in all. They had a blast, and time passsed quite quickly.

What do you do when you wait?