Want to meet some "strangers" who enjoy a good treasure hunt? Check out my new Meetup Group in the Hampton Roads Virginia area!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Listen to Strangers - Long Weekend Edition
I had intended on posting daily...we can see how quickly that notion dissolved!
I enjoyed a long weekend with my husband; we got a nice hotel room 20 minutes from our house, ate out, and "saw the sights" of the area like a couple of teenagers. My favorite had to be a place called Jillian's, where we spent a good portion of our evening playing games in the arcade. I made 'high score of the day' on the bowling game, kicked my husband's rear at air hockey the second time around (first time he beat me by one point), and we both took out dinosaurs together on the Jurassic Park game. At the end of the night we turned in our tickets and got an over-sized bouncy ball...which made me giggle like a school girl as I ricocheted it off the walls of our hotel's elevator.
We did not talk to many strangers over the weekend but I think during those few days it was more important for us to reconnect with each other. In many ways we had become like 'strangers' over the years; with little time in our everyday lives to really sit down and talk or enjoy each other's company. Work, children, bills, appointments, and everything else that goes along with married life can often get in the way of the connection a couple experiences when they first meet and date. It's important to revisit the experience from time to time, however, lest we forget that connection or start to wonder if we even have one anymore!
I do not regret that I am lacking a crazy, funny, or informative story to share with you all that was relayed to me by a stranger this weekend. Instead, I am elated that I have a story which encourages reaching out to one's spouse or significant other in the midst of life's chaos and 'getting to know them' once again. We may be able to learn something from the strangers around us if we reach out to them, but what does it matter if we are among 'strangers' in our own home and fail to reach out to them?
I enjoyed a long weekend with my husband; we got a nice hotel room 20 minutes from our house, ate out, and "saw the sights" of the area like a couple of teenagers. My favorite had to be a place called Jillian's, where we spent a good portion of our evening playing games in the arcade. I made 'high score of the day' on the bowling game, kicked my husband's rear at air hockey the second time around (first time he beat me by one point), and we both took out dinosaurs together on the Jurassic Park game. At the end of the night we turned in our tickets and got an over-sized bouncy ball...which made me giggle like a school girl as I ricocheted it off the walls of our hotel's elevator.
We did not talk to many strangers over the weekend but I think during those few days it was more important for us to reconnect with each other. In many ways we had become like 'strangers' over the years; with little time in our everyday lives to really sit down and talk or enjoy each other's company. Work, children, bills, appointments, and everything else that goes along with married life can often get in the way of the connection a couple experiences when they first meet and date. It's important to revisit the experience from time to time, however, lest we forget that connection or start to wonder if we even have one anymore!
I do not regret that I am lacking a crazy, funny, or informative story to share with you all that was relayed to me by a stranger this weekend. Instead, I am elated that I have a story which encourages reaching out to one's spouse or significant other in the midst of life's chaos and 'getting to know them' once again. We may be able to learn something from the strangers around us if we reach out to them, but what does it matter if we are among 'strangers' in our own home and fail to reach out to them?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Listen to Strangers - Day 2
Here's the reply the teacher received the following day...
Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.
From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith
I did not have the opportunity to engage any strangers in conversation today, so I thought I'd share this story that was recently posted by one of the members of a discussion forum I run...I hope you enjoy it!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Listen to Strangers - Day 1
"Don't talk to strangers."
We've had this pounded into our heads since practically the day we were born. We then proceeded to pound it into our own children's little heads as well.
While this is certainly a good concept in keeping children safe from those who may want to do them harm, it can also invoke a lifelong fear of making the effort to get to know the various people we come across on a daily basis.
As children we had no real ability to detect a "safe" situation from an "unsafe" one when dealing with people we did not know. In that case simply not talking to ANY strangers was a good rule to follow. As adults, however, we have gained that ability through acquired knowledge and experience over the years. So why are many of us still refusing to take that step in getting to know a little bit about the person sitting next to us on the bus, in the waiting room, or standing in line at the grocery store?
I have decided to break that barrier...striking up conversation with the people around me in my everyday life. I have done this for quite some time, now...but it occurred to me today that I could also share my discoveries with the rest of the world via a blog.
Each day that I speak to someone I don't know I will post about the experience here. I have learned so much from talking to the people I come across every day...whether it be interesting life stories or useful information I was previously unaware of.
It is my hope that this blog will be inspiring, informational, and entertaining for its readers. I can't say I know what direction it will take from one day to the next...but randomness is the beauty in listening to strangers!
We've had this pounded into our heads since practically the day we were born. We then proceeded to pound it into our own children's little heads as well.
While this is certainly a good concept in keeping children safe from those who may want to do them harm, it can also invoke a lifelong fear of making the effort to get to know the various people we come across on a daily basis.
As children we had no real ability to detect a "safe" situation from an "unsafe" one when dealing with people we did not know. In that case simply not talking to ANY strangers was a good rule to follow. As adults, however, we have gained that ability through acquired knowledge and experience over the years. So why are many of us still refusing to take that step in getting to know a little bit about the person sitting next to us on the bus, in the waiting room, or standing in line at the grocery store?
I have decided to break that barrier...striking up conversation with the people around me in my everyday life. I have done this for quite some time, now...but it occurred to me today that I could also share my discoveries with the rest of the world via a blog.
Each day that I speak to someone I don't know I will post about the experience here. I have learned so much from talking to the people I come across every day...whether it be interesting life stories or useful information I was previously unaware of.
It is my hope that this blog will be inspiring, informational, and entertaining for its readers. I can't say I know what direction it will take from one day to the next...but randomness is the beauty in listening to strangers!
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