Ultrasound last fall, biopsies last month, ultrasound again today. So much fun.

As I waited for the exam a quite elderly couple came in, she with a cane far too tall for her and pushing him in a wheelchair.

I had my glasses off for close-up work but he got my attention and I put them back on. He was miming knitting, a good circle around his imaginary needle, doing a great job of it–and then when he caught my eye he pointed his thumb at his wife talking to the receptionist.

Ah. Cool! I smiled, and he beamed.

They called me just as she was sitting down but at least he got to tell her he’d spotted another knitter. He was so happy about it!

Looking at the black and white screen, I asked the tech (because why not), Is it a boy or a girl? She laughed.

When I came back out of there, it was nearly 5:00. There was a mom with two boys who looked like they were identical twins, about four or five. They had an energy that had me remembering the days, though they stayed in their seats and behaved but they did not want to look at screens, they wanted to tell her and each other all about their day with every limb making happy exclamation marks to the words.

I looked down, saw a lion in my purse that I’d restocked just yesterday and instantly had the thought that no that’s not it. Huh. Okay, try again: and out came a black and white panda and a black and white puppy. Similar, but individual and you can tell them apart so they’d know which was whose. Perfect.

Happy Birthday! I said to the mom as I offered them to her.

The look on that tired mom’s face and its transformation in that moment. This is why I do this.

What she couldn’t know is that she made it worth my going through that exam. It was clearly the right day to be there.