Due to some recent burnout, and a subsequent trip to Florida to recuperate, I've been out of the blogging game for awhile. I don't know who checks my blog enough to care that I've been gone, but at least I'M glad I'm back.
I started this entry not knowing what the heck to talk about. It just came to me - I love inspiration.
First let me say, don't be too terribly jealous of my trip to Florida. Yes, yes - south FL is better than any "northern" state this time of year. Given. But it was not exactly a rip-roaring good time. I stayed with one of my best friends from college, her husband, and their 6 month old daughter, Ava. My life has never been so controlled by naptimes and feeding schedules as it was over the past week. I know my friend loves her daughter more than life itself, and I had a wonderful time soaking in the sun with them, but let's just say I was glad to get back to the freedom of my own life.
There was something else I was glad to get back to as well - southern hospitality you might call it. Well, I'm not sure if that pinpoints it exactly, but around here people are just more pleasant to be around. Now, I grew up in the Northeast, and have thus been accused (living here in Kentucky) of having a so-called northern attitude. I'm no New Yorker or anything - but I suppose I have a little more of a sarcastic edge to my everyday tone than any given KY native. But maybe all that's wearing off, and I forget what it's like to live around "my people," because by the end of my trip I was aghast at the rudeness and just plain lack of friendliness I experienced in south Florida. It wasn't completely across the board, just as not everyone around here is always friendly. But more often than not I was the victim of a cold, rude shoulder - by sales clerks, fellow customers, pushy rent-a-cops at the airport, and even people I passed on the street while out running. As I flew home (and even spotted my small town of Wilmore from the window seat of my plane), I thought, man I can't wait to get back home. I have had just about enough of this. Part of me worried though that maybe I was being overly sensitive - as well as overly unrealistic about the level of affability at home.
Yesterday was my first full day back - do you want to know what I experienced in one day? After work I went for a run around town. Every single person I ran by waved or said hello - I even got some waves from people in cars. People turned around to say hi to me before I even got to them. Do you know what I got when I said hello to some people I ran past in FL? Blank stares. After my run I hoped in the car and drove up to Lexington to run some errands. At Michael's I waited in line behind a woman with two small children. The kids were, quite frankly, driving her crazy as was evident through her tone and the excessive amount of time it took her to check out. Neither the people behind me or the cashier got annoyed, however. Instead you heard collective "aww's" and saw knowing smiles from women who have been there before. When it was my turn the cashier was super friendly to me too as she pointed out she had the same yarn I was purchasing and she eagerly expressed interest in what I was going to make with it. I left impressed, but thinking maybe I just got lucky. At TJ Maxx I had to wait an extra 30 seconds as my cashier finished up a friendly conversation with a woman who kept going on and on. When he finished talking to her, he turned to me and breathlessly apologized - "I'm SO sorry ma'am for making you wait. How are you tonight?" I smiled, this was certainly a nice change from the girl at the Gap (in FL) who impatiently yelled out "NEXT!" when I didn't immediately run to her open cash register at my turn. She had wordlessly handed me my bag, so I took the initiative to look her in the eye and say thank you. Her response? I believe it was a grunt, but one can never be too sure. Next stop - Wild Oats, a super granola, all organic grocery store. I stood in line with just two people in front of me as a worker walked past me and said, "Ma'am I can get down on lane 6." As she punched into her register she gushed, "I'm sure you have much more important things to do than stand in line at the grocery store." Surely I'm making this up you say - I'm not. She proceeded to make small talk and we had a brief bonding experience over our shared love of the whole wheat tortilla shells I was buying. I left the store beaming. I walked to my car and cold air blew brisk in my face. I looked around - the trees are still bare and the grass is still dead to the world. But Florida can have their sunshine and their green grass. We'll have it soon enough here, and until then we have the goodwill of our neighbor to keep us smiling and our hearts warm.
Welcome back to Kentucky, I thought. Welcome home.
I started this entry not knowing what the heck to talk about. It just came to me - I love inspiration.
First let me say, don't be too terribly jealous of my trip to Florida. Yes, yes - south FL is better than any "northern" state this time of year. Given. But it was not exactly a rip-roaring good time. I stayed with one of my best friends from college, her husband, and their 6 month old daughter, Ava. My life has never been so controlled by naptimes and feeding schedules as it was over the past week. I know my friend loves her daughter more than life itself, and I had a wonderful time soaking in the sun with them, but let's just say I was glad to get back to the freedom of my own life.
There was something else I was glad to get back to as well - southern hospitality you might call it. Well, I'm not sure if that pinpoints it exactly, but around here people are just more pleasant to be around. Now, I grew up in the Northeast, and have thus been accused (living here in Kentucky) of having a so-called northern attitude. I'm no New Yorker or anything - but I suppose I have a little more of a sarcastic edge to my everyday tone than any given KY native. But maybe all that's wearing off, and I forget what it's like to live around "my people," because by the end of my trip I was aghast at the rudeness and just plain lack of friendliness I experienced in south Florida. It wasn't completely across the board, just as not everyone around here is always friendly. But more often than not I was the victim of a cold, rude shoulder - by sales clerks, fellow customers, pushy rent-a-cops at the airport, and even people I passed on the street while out running. As I flew home (and even spotted my small town of Wilmore from the window seat of my plane), I thought, man I can't wait to get back home. I have had just about enough of this. Part of me worried though that maybe I was being overly sensitive - as well as overly unrealistic about the level of affability at home.
Yesterday was my first full day back - do you want to know what I experienced in one day? After work I went for a run around town. Every single person I ran by waved or said hello - I even got some waves from people in cars. People turned around to say hi to me before I even got to them. Do you know what I got when I said hello to some people I ran past in FL? Blank stares. After my run I hoped in the car and drove up to Lexington to run some errands. At Michael's I waited in line behind a woman with two small children. The kids were, quite frankly, driving her crazy as was evident through her tone and the excessive amount of time it took her to check out. Neither the people behind me or the cashier got annoyed, however. Instead you heard collective "aww's" and saw knowing smiles from women who have been there before. When it was my turn the cashier was super friendly to me too as she pointed out she had the same yarn I was purchasing and she eagerly expressed interest in what I was going to make with it. I left impressed, but thinking maybe I just got lucky. At TJ Maxx I had to wait an extra 30 seconds as my cashier finished up a friendly conversation with a woman who kept going on and on. When he finished talking to her, he turned to me and breathlessly apologized - "I'm SO sorry ma'am for making you wait. How are you tonight?" I smiled, this was certainly a nice change from the girl at the Gap (in FL) who impatiently yelled out "NEXT!" when I didn't immediately run to her open cash register at my turn. She had wordlessly handed me my bag, so I took the initiative to look her in the eye and say thank you. Her response? I believe it was a grunt, but one can never be too sure. Next stop - Wild Oats, a super granola, all organic grocery store. I stood in line with just two people in front of me as a worker walked past me and said, "Ma'am I can get down on lane 6." As she punched into her register she gushed, "I'm sure you have much more important things to do than stand in line at the grocery store." Surely I'm making this up you say - I'm not. She proceeded to make small talk and we had a brief bonding experience over our shared love of the whole wheat tortilla shells I was buying. I left the store beaming. I walked to my car and cold air blew brisk in my face. I looked around - the trees are still bare and the grass is still dead to the world. But Florida can have their sunshine and their green grass. We'll have it soon enough here, and until then we have the goodwill of our neighbor to keep us smiling and our hearts warm.
Welcome back to Kentucky, I thought. Welcome home.
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