Today, waiting for the bus, I met the most delightful woman.
“Have you been waiting for long?”
That’s public transportation code for I want to talk.
She was coming from the doctor.
Lawd Jesus…she was so wonderfully refreshing. I wanted to bring her home so that I could talk to her all day long.
You could’ve knocked me over with a feather when she told me she was 96 years old. 96 YEARS OLD!
Taking the bus. Living on her own.
She looked 70 at most.
I asked her the secret to looking so good at 96. She told me she never got married and never had kids.
She has 10 godchildren…but she doesn’t spoil them like most people do.
I’m not always going to be a bus person. But I will always be a collector of stories. I will always be that person who strikes up a conversation in line at the store. Or with someone who needs a smile in a coffee shop.
In a world that values social media and instant gratification, we need to take snippets of time to be human.
Put down your phone.
Shut off Facebook. And instagram. And twitter. And snap chat.
Sit in a park with a real book.
Make a tech-free coffee date with a friend and have an actual conversation.
There are people all around you who just want to tell you their story. Hear the story. Tell your story. Let your stories intertwine…and watch your life change.
Years ago, a friend told me that my life is a tapestry. I always thought that the tapestry was my experiences. Now I realize that it is a collection of the stories that I am collecting.
Tell me one of your stories…let our tapestries connect.
Deneen White 