Eating alone. . .emotions in society.

This eating alone thing is tiresome, but it is interesting.

Today is Easter so not many places are open.  One of the few places was First Watch so I went there for breakfast - my local place was closed, of course.  Seeing all the families and couples there, whether after church, or there for the same reason I was - it was open - made me feel uncomfortable.

With my decision for happiness, I have also had to pay a price: emotional awareness.  Seeing pregnant women, women with children, and even happy couples can make me sad.  In the past, in that sort of social situation (crowded, especially) I would be uber polite and go out of my way to say "Good Morning!" - I would not consciously be covering emotions, just unaware.  Today, I had a hard time looking people in the eye and was rather shy.  Knowing emotions can bubble up quickly, I am more reserved these days.

The guys working there went out of their way to take care of me - "We'll get you a table soon!" update five minutes later (or less) - "I see one over there - it's almost clean!" - minute later "Almost ready!"  The waitress then gave me energetically good service, which I rewarded with a $5 tip.

Could they feel my discomfort? Was it an effort to make me feel better? I wonder.