Um . . .

I stared at the menu in front of me, thinking of all the work to be done at home. We still had an hour’s more drive to go and it felt like a day wasted, the hours I’d spent in a waiting room while my mother-in-law, Rita, had her eyes checked. My time was precious.

“I’ll take a Long Island iced tea,” Rita said, squinting to read the description of the tea she had just requested.

I stared bug-eyed across the table at her. “Um, I think that might have alcohol in it,” I said. “A lot.” I looked to the waitress for help.

“Yes, there’s no actual tea in that drink, ma’am.”

Rita blushed. “Oops! Do you have any flavored iced teas?”

The waitress rattled off the list and Rita chose strawberry tea. As soon as the waitress walked away, we started laughing, releasing the tension we both felt. It was a moment of comic relief in the middle of a long, tedious day. Conversation flowed the rest of the lunch and during the car ride home. I came to view the time-consuming trips taking Rita to the doctor as blessings.