Perspective

I found myself getting worked up about my commute home today. It was the first pretty cold night and it was raining fairly hard. I had a twenty minute walk followed by waiting for a good twenty to thirty minutes, followed by another twenty or so minutes on the bus ahead of me. So, I was less than excited when my sister/roommate was not available to pick me up. But, this is the natural consequence in having to rely on other people. Anyway, the walk was removed from the to do list due to a coworker's offer to give me a ride to the bus. But, this only meant that I would have a longer wait at the actual stop.
I got out of her car and attempted to find a dry place to "lean" for the next half hour. Ten minutes later I booked it to Starbucks for a pumpkin latte. Hot drink now in hand, I headed back out to face the rain. When I got their a seat had opened up on a bench in a roofed enclosure. I sat down and slowly sipped my latte, hoping that I could imagine the bus would be there any second.
Enter the wet, cold, and hopeless couple. They had also taken shelter; the girl sitting while the man stood in front of her. They were discussing their travel plans. Apparently they were in need of a place to sleep. So, he got on the phone to a friend to make arrangements. I had come to the conclusion that they were visiting from out of town. He finishes the call to confirm that, yes, we can stay with them. Then a girl approaches that they are acquaintances with. She asks "will you be sleeping outside tonight?" I was shocked! Sleeping outside, why would she ask that unless it was a necessary option. They said no and informed her that they had found a place for the night and asked her if she would be. She said "Yeah...". That was it. It was what it was and everyone, but me moved on.
Here I was complaining (in my head) about my commute home, when some people were having to figure out where they were going to sleep. Huge reality check. From that minute on, I considered it a gift that I was waiting for a bus to take me "home".