We take off. Bill is fishing. I am catching some rays; the dogs are on point watching the ducks and we are listening to an audio book. As we get into the marina, we must pass all of the yachts and houseboats, in fact we passed right by the houseboat that we had owned for many years. As we float past the “Mirage” houseboat, we probably looked like we were in a lifeboat sitting next to the cruise ship!
We go around all the rental houseboats and pull into the first slip at the dock. At this point I notice all the people looking at us. I am sure that they are not admiring “The Little Dingy”. We tie up our boat and Bill hops up onto the dock, thinking nothing of his audience! I on the other hand, am very aware of the attention we have drawn, especially the six adults sitting in lawn chairs out on the deck of the 70 foot luxury rental right next to us! They were staring at us because we were their entertainment!
The dock is over waist high. As I stand up. I am trying to keep my balance in the little dingy and not go overboard! Have you ever tried to stand up in a raft in the middle of a lake? It is like trying to balance on top of a beach ball! I am not quite as agile as I once was, but I grab the rope and Bill’s hand and pull myself up onto the dock. We go over to the store, get our waffle cones, and go back out and sit at a table close by “The Little Dingy” and watch as the audience gets even bigger. We even have people talking to our dogs now that are still aboard The Little Dingy!!
What I have found is we all do this at times. I honestly DID NOT know what they were thinking! I am not a mind reader. Most of the time what we imagine they are thinking is completely wrong or quite exaggerated. Besides that, what someone else is thinking is none of your business! They are evaluating the situation from their perspective, making judgments according to their own beliefs and experiences. They have no idea what you have been through, why you are doing what you are doing and most of them do not really care.