........................ The Almosts ........................

On Monday mornings 
at the Milk of Motherhood Insurance Company,

most employees have something to share with their colleagues.

The twenty-somethings boastfully describe their wild week-ends.

Some of them are even telling the truth.

At the water cooler, homeowners discuss shelving units 

they built for the den or relive Sunday’s football highlights.

Others talk about their daughter’s piano recital 

or celebrity-sightings–real or imagined.

But then there are the Almosts. 

There is always a small group of office people 

without weekend points of pride.

They say things like

"I almost had a hot date but I lost the phone number." 

Or

“I almost went to the movies but
my aunt just had heart surgery

so I stayed at home and prayed for her recovery.” 

Or

“My sister invited me to go skiing but I’m afraid of snow.”

What else they had to say was almost interesting enough 

to reprint in this space but not quite. 

*********

©

 Oliverio

©
The image is from Jay Pegg Europa