I live a life of voyeurism. It's helpful that I'm curious and quite snoopy to begin with, but my career path has only amplified my natural tendencies. As a teacher, it is pretty much my job to shock and astound students by saying, "Tommy - language. Suzy - talk about your weekend later, okay? We don't want to hear it. Billy - stop talking about how you cheated on that vocab quiz. Yes, we'll be calling your parents later." I am supposed to have eyes and ears all over the room at all times. My husband accuses me of giving poor, unsuspecting teenagers in the mall the hairy eyeball.
"How do you do that?""What?""You just made those kids stop yelling.""...It's a gift. Few are blessed."
It's starting to bleed into my real life, though. As I drive to work, I find myself gaging how I'm doing on time by the things I see around me. As I'm driving out of my subdivision, I see the two old ladies who walk together. If they're almost back to the houses, then I'm running late. They should be about at the corner. Then I'm on time. Now, I don't know why the ladies who walk around in the morning are more regularly "on time" than me, but I'm sure they are. When you're 75, I bet you're either the walk around in the morning and be punctual type or you're still snoozing. I'm still undecided on which type I'd like to be. I'll probably just be grateful to be 75.
Once I start driving, there's a man and his dog who walk out to a tiny airfield by the road. I am sure they're just doing their morning routine and doggy's gots to pee. However, whenever I drive by, the man is outlined by a beautiful sunrise with a dutiful dog seated next to him, both watching the small planes. It's beautiful. I love that both dog and man know enough to appreciate the sights in their morning walk. If they're already trudging back to their house, I know I'm running behind.
Once I'm almost to school, I drive by one of my favorite houses by the lake. This one is the most creepy, I suppose, because I feel like I know these poor people. It's an older (but not old) couple who have coffee while reading the paper together each morning. They have a cute little breakfast nook and apparently don't want a ton of curtains between them and the lake. Unfortunately for them, the road (and a stop sign) are between them and their lake. Occasionally, I'll see one or the other (fully robed; it's not that creepy) deciding between two outfits to wear. Sometimes, if I am driving back particularly late, I'll see them hosting small dinner parties. They seem super fun. I'm glad I get to participate, even marginally and slightly creepily, in their lovely lives.
But summer is almost here. I really hope that come next September, I still get to see my old lady friends trotting around in their adorable scarves. I hope that man and dog still enjoy their air show every morning. I hope my idyllic couple still sits together and drinks coffee while chatting about the news in the mornings.
I can only hope someone is looking forward to seeing that teacher drive to school.
Or, maybe they'll just buy curtains. Whatever.
