Musical Chairs

She said our wait would be twenty to twenty-five minutes. I looked at her skeptically seeing as the journey for name submission, alone, took five. Nevertheless, I smiled thankfully and proceeded to use my compass to navigate through the Black Friday crowd to reach the spot where my parents were waiting (slight exaggeration). They had managed to find two seats on the cushioned booths that lined the entrance walls. I happily stood in front of them, as all other seats were taken, and observed those standing elsewhere.

Restaurant waiting-“room” time can be quite interesting. People-watching is heightened with dialogue that tends to amuse strictly out of intrigue, and minds start to wander, often out of hunger. Since we were waiting to dine for brunch, and I was focused on breakfast food, I found myself wandering more than watching. Just as I started thinking about all of the chickens it must take to produce all of the eggs being cooked and served in this particular restaurant on this particular day, I noticed movement to my right. Booth Vacancy Alert! As I looked around for the notables whose absence would give me seating clearance: elders, expectant mothers, children, etc, I was surprised to find myself in green-light status. Just as I was about to plant my rear next to my folks, two teenage girls swooped in for the kill. I laughed.

What did this remind me of? It only took a second before the childhood memories of circular movement and plotting came flooding into view. Of course! Musical Chairs. I should have known. All those years of training wrapped cleverly into an enjoyable activity. Adults have known about the limited restaurant-waiting-area seating since the beginning of time, right? What better way to communicate the vital skill of seat nabbing than in a “game” that can be played all throughout the formative years?!

To the girls’ credit, once they realized I had been contemplating filling one of the seat vacancies, an offer was made for exchange. Although I declined out of amusement for the moment, I was motivated by the gesture. It reminded me that while our competitive nature does tend to surface instinctually, it can be controlled for a better outcome.