5 Minutes

I worked all day. Busy, busy. Important work, they say.

Had to stay a little late this evening.  I've always been one of the late people at work - I think I like the peace of being alone in there, even though I'm still just in my cube.

It's quiet.  And I've spent years greeting the people who come after hours to clean the offices.

Tonight, I spent 5 minutes talking with the guy assigned to my floor.  We've exchanged hellos before, but little more.  He started out asking if my cube neighbor had moved, yet.  He had told him he was moving away.  Yes, he had.  But he continued to talk.  Checking in about the recent flood impact and relaying his own. But what caught my attention was where he lives, where he came from, how did he end up there....

It was a short conversation, but I learned about his family, about his challenges, the reason he walks with a forearm crutch, and his determination to recover from a tumor operation that left him unable to walk.

It only took 5 minutes to listen....

I did my "important work" all day long and didn't feel the satisfaction I felt in that 5 minutes of my day....