The fine art of people watching!

**Yes, this is my second post of the day purely because I forgot to post my blog yesterday when I was feeling inspired. So here is Monday's thoughts.

People watching! Some people love to do this but honestly I feel like this is a dying art! My dad loved to watch people-I learned from him. He would patiently wait in the car when my mom was shopping or at an appointment and watch people. He enjoyed just watching.

I enjoy doing this too. I often make up stories, situations or scenarios to go with the people I am observing. And in this day and age people are missing out as they usually have their noses buried in their electronic devices, cell phones, kindles, laptops or whatever. Look up and watch the world around you! You might just learn something!

The idea for today's blog came to me yesterday as I was eating alone at a fast food restaurant. A couple of tables over was a couple with two small children. The older of the two children liked a lot of attention and was pushing his parents buttons as much and as often as he could. The younger child was a patient child who probably was more entertain by his older brother and why he was quieter and better behaved-built in entertainment! I first listened to this young family then I started to watch them out of the corner of my eyes. The parents were patient and in good humor with the challenges of eating out with two little ones. The oldest child wanted to sit at his own table and kept making observations about what was going on outside and the people in the cars in the drive thru. It was humorous and entertaining to watch and listen to this family of four. The parents had a lot of patience with both their children answering questions, politely asking the older child to sit down and eat and praising the younger child for behaving and eating so well. It reminded me of my family when my kids were that age!

In another section of the dining area was an older couple. They took their time sitting there eating and not saying much to one another. In my mind I made them to be very comfortable with each other and not having a need to talk but just being together was enough. I've always wondered if couples every run out of things to talk about.

At a table around the corner from me was another couple, again older. With this couple the female did all the talking and the man just listened. I don't think he could get a word in! The lady was very opinionated and had a lot to say, I didn't eavesdrop but just listened to the tone, the body language of both. I kind of felt sorry for the guy but he ate and nodded and listened for the most part. I really wonder how much he heard!

It was nice to sit there and watch and listen to what was going on around me. I've learned as a parent and as someone who works in education you can learn a lot by listening and watching, sometimes more than you want to. But you can tell a lot about a person by their body language and tone.

I think we all just need to put down our electronic devices look up and watch the world and people around us. You may just be entertained or learn something or you may be able to help someone, all you have to do is watch.