What’s Your Story?
A movie I watched a few years ago ended with a gentleman standing on a busy street corner, and in a very loud and memorable voice he kept repeatedly saying to the folks passing him by, “What’s your story?’’
The scene is etched in my mind but for the life of me I can’t remember the title of the movie. You might know of or have the same condition, which I like to call “Sometimers” (sometimes I remember things and sometimes I don’t).
At the time, I remember thinking every single person passing him by had a story to tell.
In February, after 18 years of serving as the Executive Director of a local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, my new journey of traveling across the Carolinas and Virginia began with my husband, Tim, a manufacturer’s representative in the outdoor furniture industry since 1992. Along the way, my curiosity was sparked. I sought to know more about each dealer we were traveling to meet. What was their history in the business? What led them there? Nine times out of ten, my curiosity has been met by theirs.
People enjoy sharing their stories and they’ve been eager to hear mine.
It’s so interesting to me how often when I do share my story, I find there is a mutual connection with the person I’m sharing with. Tim swears it’s because the small town I’m from in South Carolina could very well be the center of the universe, but that’s a story for another day! Maybe there is something to the old idea of six degrees of separation.
One day a few weeks into our travels together, Tim turned to me and asked, “Are you sure you are okay with this new journey you are on?” He knows how deeply I cared for and loved the people I encountered each day when I was with Habitat for Humanity. While I miss those wonderful people on a daily basis, the answer to his question came easy for me. How could I not be okay? In that moment I found myself spending time with my best friend, seeing his world from a new and first hand perspective, meeting so many wonderful people, sipping on a delicious coffee and getting to put my inner decorator in motion with all of the fabric books we were toting around.
I’m more than okay and I have welcomed the change of pace in ways I had no idea I would!
It has been an absolute pleasure to meet dealers, manufacturers and their representatives as we’ve travelled. In an effort to fight off the self-diagnosed condition of “Sometimers”, I found myself journaling about the places we were going each day, where we were lodging, what and where we were eating to include our favorite coffee shops, and the people in the casual outdoor industry we were encountering along the way.
Upon learning there was an opportunity for some of our road stories in Casual Living, I was happy to consider writing but even more happy to think some of you might share your stories with me. I hope as we travel together you will enjoy hearing and even identifying with some of our stories and adventures along the way. One friend truly does sharpen another, just like iron sharpens iron.
If you feel inclined to share your road stories, I would absolutely love to hear from you.