I had jury duty today. It was my first time ever and I was kind of dreading it (as I'm sure most people do). I brought a book with me since I figured I'd have some time to read as I waited to learn of my fate. I was one of the lucky ones that had to wait around until 3p in the jury pool just in case there was a court that unexpectedly needed a jury at the last minute. In other words, I had A LOT of time to read. I was blessed by my husband who brought the kids and picked me up for lunch. That certainly helped break up the day and it was nice to get to spend lunch with my family rather than by myself watching business men and women come and go during their lunch break. Anyway, we had to return to the jury room by 1:30...and just wait. Or in my case, read.
If you're like me, pleasure reading gets pushed to the back burner after having children. I feel like I haven't read a book in 3 years! And if I do read, it's a few pages once a month, making it nearly impossible to actually finish a book. So mostly I stick to magazines and blogs since I can get through that (usually) uninterrupted or during nap time.As I breezed through my book in the jury room, I began to really appreciate being there. After all, if I were home, I certainly would not have devoted an hour and a half to reading a book for fun. As 3p approached and I was nearing the end of my book, I found myself wishing I had more time because I knew as soon as they dismissed us I'd put away my book and who knows how long it would be before I picked it up again and finished it. Meanwhile, I heard men and women around me huffing and puffing about having to be there and criticizing the bailiff for waiting until exactly 3 o'clock to dismiss us.
It struck me that it must be stressful to live life like that. Here I was taking full advantage of a situation that I had no control over anyway. I had to be there just like they did but I was making the most of it and actually enjoying the time. When we finally were dismissed at 3:15 (how dare she make us wait an extra 15 minutes!) I was calm, relaxed and happy to be going home to my family. I figure those pessimists probably got in their cars, peeled out of the parking lot, cursed at a few drivers who were going too slow, got home and griped to their families about how they wasted a whole day at jury duty. What a sad way to live...
Oh, and you'll be happy to know that I did finish my book :)
And if you're an optimist too (or even if you aren't), be sure to enter my giveaway...somebody has to win, why not you?
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I do the exact same thing! It's whacked out, but when I get jury summons, I totally rejoice. I'm a librarian, and usually have about four books going at once...and contrary to popular belief, reading is about the only thing we don't do at work!
ReplyDeleteSo, to me, jury duty is enforced relaxation/reading time. I won't feel so guilty now, knowing someone else out there feels similarly.
Visiting from New Friend Fridays at The Girl Creative..
ReplyDeleteI recently had jury duty as well. I didn't mind it too terribly, but all the potential jurors got to leave at 10:30!