On the eve of turning half a century, I decided that last
blog was really a bunch of whining. I
have had the last two weeks to really think about a lot of stuff. Is that
normal for 49 and 99/100? I guess it would be.
I really starting counting all the things I am so grateful for and If I
were to write them down I would run out of space. The one concept that really stood out to me
today is the human need to find all that is familiar. We spend so much time talking about expeditions,
blazing new trails, seeing things we've never seen and that’s all great but
where we find joy is in those things that are familiar and personal.
I moved to Crossville just 15 short years ago. This was a trail blazing move on its own. I knew no one here except my husband and felt
like I was starting from scratch. I
started working shortly after I arrived.
Every morning, I would stop at the local convenience store (Minit Chek)
on the way for a cup of coffee. This was
a familiar tradition I enjoyed no matter where I lived. I remember one day walking in and hearing, “Hey
Cheryl, running late this morning?” As a
matter of fact, I was. Just about five minutes but not giving up the
tradition. They knew…. My Name. Awesome.
That made my day and made me feel special and like family. This in contrast to those businesses that see
you and you walk in and they say “hi”.
You spin around to see who said that and you don’t recognize anyone and
the person behind you bumps into you as they are saying “hi” to them too.
Case in point here: I
was driving home one day and looked in my rear view mirror to see the blue
lights flashing. I looked at my speedometer and it was right on the money for
the speed limit. I pull over and a
policeman approaches my car and asks me if I had just got gas at the Minit
Chek. I said, “No, I just got gas at this one up the street”. Well, he said the car and driver fit the
description of someone who had just filled up and drove off. He determined I was telling the truth and
life went on. A couple days later, I
stopped in at the Minit Chek where I had purchased coffee everyday for 7
years. I said, “Hey Bob, they pulled me
over the other day because they thought I might have stolen gas from you all”. He
replied with,” If it had been you, we would have just wrote you up a slip and
caught up with you next time”. Familiar-
I love it. I seriously think the word
familiar comes from the root word Family. It means about the same thing.
