Hey, Young Man...

This weekend, my family and I braved some wet and icy weather to visit my mother-in-law over 100 miles away. Mimi has enjoyed getting to spend some play time with our 1 year son, David, while my wife and I got to catch up with Mimi concerning the latest adulthood drama and such.

Taking advantage of an impromptu babysitter, my wife and I decided to go out to dinner alone for the first time in I don't know how long. Willing to splurge a little bit and really get to relax, we went our for Mexican food and went all out and decided to order some queso with our chips and salsa. Mind blowing, right? It gets better...

Phones put away and our faces in the menus, I pretty much knew what section I wanted to check out. The CHIMIS. I ordered my chimichanga and continued sips of my sweet tea. While engaging my wife in conversation, I couldn't help but notice an elderly couple walk in with their teen aged grandson.

I'm a people watcher. I can't help but to constantly look around and take-in my surroundings. It comes from watching too many crime shows, but more realistically from my job environment. I can keep up my conversation about finances, talking about David, and talking about family and friends, but I cant help but to notice the people around me. I find enjoyment noticing couples on a dates, mostly when I can tell the girl is a nervous wreck and the guy is jittery, evidenced by bouncing his leg while maintaining a calm expression for his girl. I also like seeing young college students out with their fam for the first time in a long time, sporting their new college shirt and sitting as close as possible to mom, grandparents, but also clingy, younger siblings. This particular group of 3 I noticed walking to the restaurant last night caught my attention for the entire time I was munching on my steak chimi.

The gentleman ordered a mixed drink without the salt on the brim...I don't blame him. The lady ordered her a Pepsi. And the teenager ordered a tea. What was interesting, is not what they ordered, but what the teenager did the entire time he was out with his grandparents. This teen walked in with his face in his smartphone and earbuds in his ears. At first, I'm thinking, "Well, maybe he just hasn't turned off Pandora or the sports radio yet. He will soon." NOT! This guy only looked away from his phone when taking a sip of his beverage or to look up at the TV clear across the room that he couldn't possibly hear. One of the annoying things that kept drawing my attention was that stupid flashing thing that goes off with his notifications. He kept his phone under the table while he took SnapChats, then he'd go back to something else. Neither of the 3 ever uttered an audible word, and their table was RIGHT NEXT to ours. They were so close I could've reached over and slapped this clown in the back of his head (I sincerely wanted to). Why?

Because I know exactly what it is like to miss my grandparents and regret the times I was too distant to notice them sitting right in front of me. I wanted so badly to literally be in his chair. To see Granny and Papa, and Mommom again. I wanted so badly to be thrown back in time to their living rooms or dining room tables and enjoy another meal with them. Just one more. I'd get so say another "I love you" and give another hug so tight I was partly afraid of hurting them, but the payoff of that hug would outweigh those costs.

"Hey, young man. Take it from a young man who sat where you sat, and did some of what you did: Pay attention. Take it all in. You're going to miss them when they're gone. You're going to kick yourself when you receive that phone call."

Many times, we do the same thing he did, but in a different way. We look around and pay attention to everyone else. We are worried about other families, but neglect undivided, intimate conversation with our spouse. To my wife, I'm also sorry. I pay so much attention to insignificant people in my life and concern myself with their silliness, that I miss subtle, yet intricate details of your life. I also learned my lesson this weekend...Don't let a single moment pass by that you didn't pay full attention to your loved ones. Call them. Speak to them. Go visit them. Let them know you love them.