Eleanor Rigby was at my house last night. No, really.
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came…
The Beatles
Feel free to sing along. Ah, look at all the lonely people. Do doo da doo… But back to the subject at hand. Eleanor was at my house last night, in the guise of the dog lady. Eleanor, I mean Ann, was supposed to be there at 6 p.m. to check out our house to make sure we were suitable owners for lil Herbie. I rushed back from the PT conference, swept the kitchen floor, picked up all the various items laying around (is it laying or lying? I can’t ever remember), and lit a candle. I wuz prepared! So…6:05…6:45…7:00 and Eleanor-I mean Ann-calls and says she is hopelessly lost.
One of the best things about Mr. A is that he nearly always helps if you really need it, even if he hates you. So he went out to find the dog lady and guided her to our apartment. She stayed until NINE: FIFTEEN telling me every story about her family she could think of, some not even the teensiest bit dog-related. I’m sure my smile must’ve been a little strained around the 1:30 hour mark, as lil pill was wanting a sandwich and I needed to do laundry and then put lil pill to bed. And she was-how shall I put this?-strange, for lack of a better term. She knew dogs and how to be a good dog mom, but didn’t really know how to interact well with people. Certainly reading body language wasn’t her strong suit! I tried to be nice and engage her in conversation, as she seemed like she needed to talk to someone. She finally left, but I couldn’t help but wonder how many lonely, alone people there are out there that just want someone to talk to, someone to care.
I seem to draw Eleanors like a magnet, but in actually I am also one of those lonely people. I make friends slowly. I keep to myself. I don’t like crowds and feel much more comfortable hanging out with just a couple of people. I feel happy being by myself, and yet I do wish my life were fuller. Ann reminded me that I must force myself out of my comfort zone…to get out and accept invitations when they are offered, to make opportunities for lil pill and I to interact with people instead of just sitting at home being safe.
