I was picking up my wife at the mechanic shop. She was putting her car in for an oil change. As I sat in the car waiting, I imagined her standing at a counter spelling out her last name. The last name she now has, since marrying me.
It is not an easy name for people to grasp. I've spent my whole life spelling it out for people. I wondered how my wife felt about that challenge. Does she get annoyed at the inconvenience? Does she patiently help the enquirer to overcome their inability?
It made me think about what having that name had made me become. I have spent a lifetime patiently spelling it out for people. I could have chosen to become annoyed at people. I could have chosen to be disdainful, snappy or rude. I didn't though. A lifetime of spelling out a difficult name and helping to bridge a communication problem. What did that make me? What will it make my wife?
Sometimes sitting in the car is not as simple as it might seem! It can bring forth some magical musings.