These old tiles

Today I noticed these old, interesting tiles in the house where Laboratorio Borinquen is located en el pueblo.

I was breathing in and out deeply, trying not to lose my patience with the employee taking my information. She kept making mistakes and didn’t seem to know how to process my insurance or the lab orders. I was upset, but I tried to be compassionate.

Maybe she’s new. Maybe she was just distracted. Maybe her mind was somewhere else. Maybe she’s older but can’t afford to retire yet, and has to endure this job because she needs the money.

But at the same time, I was really pissed.

The whole time, I was fighting the urge to communicate my annoyance more directly. The process unnecessarily took an hour. The lab was empty. It was just me, the secretary, and the nurse.

But for some reason (or no reason at all) I had to be there, waiting too long on an empty stomach, running late for work. I had to be there on this glorious-ish morning, noticing old tiles and choosing kindness over frustration.