I came home late last night and this morning Rory had really important phone calls that required a quiet house from 9:30-12:30. So we went to the John Deere store, our favorite burger place and the library.
When we got to the burger place I put in our order and then we waited at our table. It's sort of a diner feel restaurant and we are regulars. I needed to use the restroom and was trying to get my kids to leave their chocolate milk to join me in the bathroom so I could go. But they were hard sells and eventually the woman who took our order walked by, heard my plea to my kids and told me she'd be happy to watch them.
When I came back they had discovered their shared love of John Deere tractors. Ivar told me excitedly that she has two boxes of tractors at her house that her big boys used to play with. When she walked away he asked me when we could have a play date at her house.
She brought our food and we asked her name. She said it was Laurie. And Ivar asked if he could play with her tractors and she laughed politely.
After she walked away I explained to the kids, "That is how you make a friend. You start talking and find something in common. Then you learn their name and remember it so that the next time you see them you can say hi. And then you are friends."
As I said it I was struck with how simple this formula is. And then I realized that I had just made a new friend named Laurie, and left motivated to try to learn one new name each day. Especially the names of the people I see often, like the workers at the stores I frequent or really, any place in my small town.
The world would be a whole lot more inviting if everyone shared this daily goal, wouldn't it? I thought it was a nice thought, and I'm going to give it a go.
1 comment:
Oh, Becca, you definitely can make a friend a day!
Love your heart!
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