31 Things: Meeting New People and Visiting the Lake

MISSION EYE CONTACTO: This is not for the faint at heart. Saying hello to everyone you meet is hard work, especially when you are trying to greet people at Starbucks before they have their coffee.   To be honest, when I walked into Starbucks, I wasn't thinking about my mission and therefore said hello to NO ONE. Hang head, droopy shoulders, shuffle feet. Yes, I'm ashamed.

If I didn't decide to drink my coffee in the cafe, I would have walked out of there without greeting one single person in my pursuit to do what exactly? Get back into my car faster? I don't understand what my rush is. Why is it so hard to notice and greet my neighbors?

I know I said I wasn't going to use Anders to help make talking to people easier. I change my mind. I'm almost never without him People, give me a break! I decided that I need to use what God gave me and He gave me a kick butt kid. If that's who I need to make my way into the hearts of strangers, you bet your bottom dollar I'm going to use him. Babies have a magical way of always making people smile and when they smile- EYE CONTACTO!

One of my sub-goals was to not only say hello to someone but also to engage in a conversation. I purposely plopped down next to this girl because I recognized her from the day before and she seemed to smile easily. She kept looking up from her computer to oogle and boogul at my little man. I decided to tell her about my goal to say hello to everyone I see.   I admitted that today I failed because I was overwhelmed at the sheer amount of people waiting impatiently for their coffee. Then I asked the magical question: "whats your name?"

Talk about a big step. Asking for someones name makes your relationship go from stranger to acquaintance.... Now, when I see her, I can greet her by name. She is no longer a stranger I am waving to- she is someone I know. Calling someone by name is very powerful.   Do you remember the first time a new friend called you by name? You feel validated, remembered and important.

Turns out this girls name is Mary. I screamed, "THAT IS MY NAME TOO! Do you also drink mochas?....oh...ok we have different drinks but WOW! WE ARE BOTH MARYS!!!!"

Next time I see her, I will tell her that I lied a little bit and that my name is in fact Mary Kay. I think she'll be ok about that.

Later in the day I went to a lake down the road: Nuly goal #2 for the day and I met an entire family. These people were Somerville natives. They called my son Anduhhhs and I tried not to laugh. They gave me extra diapers so Anders could swim around and even asked us to be in their family picture. Their names were Bonnie (grandma), Lisa (age 30) and her three kids but I only remember two of their names- Luke and Emily. In fact, I had so much fun at the beach I went back later in the day with my friend Tracey. We met two wonderful women who were birders.... among other things....yes we got to know all about their lives. Linda showed me some of the pictures she took of the owls and Janet let me use her binoculars so that I could see them better. It was amazing. Oh- did I tell you that Tracey and I followed the sound of a HAWK until we located it. We watched it on a branch until it flew off. We also saw two OWLS with the help of our new friends Janet and Linda. I hope to see those two again- they were great! I hyperlinked Linda's name so that you can see the pictures that she took of the red screech owl.

I am finding that as I start to meet people and learn their names, I see them more often. I might have seen them before but now I'm registering them differently because they are no longer strangers. My city is getting smaller as I make friends with the community one person at a time.

My challenge to you: meet someone today and learn their name.
Turn your city into a community :)
In the very least, be like that girl Mary and smile! Make it easy for people to say hi to YOU!