Missed Connections

     So I walk into my apartment after my evening class, hangry as can be because who decided having a class in the middle of the dinner hour was a good idea?  Anyways, I go to set my bag down and glance out my living room window and behold, my favorite site and yours too - cherries and berries lighting up the McDonald's window.  As I rush to take off my jacket and get a better view I realize something...
     I missed it.  The officer is in the middle of getting in his car.  He shuts his lights off.  He puts the car in gear.  He drives away.  I missed the action, I missed the moment, I was too late!  Nothing is worse in life than realizing you just missed your shot.  But life is full of these moments and I've seen quite a few happen in my day, some, through this window, some not. 

     One thing I've noticed over the years is that the McDonald's is a pretty popular meeting place for people of all ages.  On a regular basis I'll see someone waiting outside, sitting on there phone, glancing up to see where their friend, date, coffee buddy, or baby-daddy is.  But on a regular basis, I see those people eventually give up and leave too. Occasionally I'll dwell on who these people were planning on meeting, and what happened to them, letting my imagination stretch a little bit.  Other times, I've see the bus drop off and shut its doors as it pulls away with someone running behind it.  Now it's not usually as comical as in the movies, with papers flying from their bags and arms flailing (but sometimes it is).  Sometimes, the bus stops for those people.  But more often than not, it motors off into the distance, and is just another missed connection. 

     Life is full of missed connections, whether we like it or not.  But a lot of life is full of random made connections too.  Either way, life is determined by how you handle these random encounters.  You can sulk about the fact that you missed the bus.  Or, you can look up at the sky and enjoy your walk.  You can be upset that you got home 5 minutes too late and didn't get to watch whatever police action was happening out the window.  Or, you can embrace the fact that life is a mixed bucket of connections.  You embrace the ones you make, and shrug off the ones you miss.  The past is the past, all we can do is learn from it and keep moving forward. 

And yes, I did just write an entire post about a cop car driving away.  This is what time through the window is all about.  Letting your mind wander and seeing where life takes you, learning from the most insignificant moments, and embracing life.  Have you missed a connection? What did you learn from it?