The (Almost) Daily Dose: I Want to Keep My Heart Open and My Hands Waving

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I have run into more people in and around my neighborhood in the past month than I have in the past three years since we moved here. We wave, we say hello, we give each other plenty of space. I feel much more a part of the community because I actually see people (with the exception of my across the street neighbor, Pete, who is always whistling but who is never visible) and say hello even if I don’t know their name. There is an older couple down the street who now sit with family members at an outdoor fire pit and they seem to be truly enjoying their campfire sessions. There is the mother of one of my daughter’s soccer buddies who remarried and lives up the street and I finally saw out on a walk with her husband. There are young couples with babies and there was an inspiring older gentleman doing laps with his walker. I have spoken to two friends, one in Boulder and one in Louisville, who have had incredible difficult life stuff of late and we talked for a long time, one on the phone, the other at a six-foot distance—catching up, commiserating, virtually hugging.

No distractions. Just very open and honest conversation. I want to hold on to these connections and I want to keep waving at people as they walk by, ride by on their bikes or in their cars. I love the couple in Old Town having cocktails on their front porch who enthusiastically waved like I was a beloved old friend while I rode by on my evening bike ride. I do think the human race both wants and needs to connect and I know that this forced disconnect has made me re-think what those connections mean to me. It’s also made me nicer. Melted my heart a bit. I hadn’t realized my heart needed that but it definitely did. I know there are various viewpoints on how the COVID crisis will change people. Some say maybe a bit, some say not at all. I can’t speak for anyone but me and I am committed to keep on waving and saying hello and making more of an effort. I realized that’s a big part of why I’m here and I was slacking. I am waving at whoever may be reading this and saying hello, hope your day is going okay, hope you’re healthy. Very grateful you’re here.