Gratitude: someone you met.
Today I met someone who I have wanted to meet since she said a handful of words to me in the fall of 2014.
First some background.
From
my blog in October 2014...............................
The next day I was trudging down the city streets on my walk.
The next day I was trudging down the city streets on my walk.
As
I was walking down Acadia a woman, who had just left the house down
the street, pulled her car over with her window down and said, “Keep
going, you're doing great” and gave me a thumbs up.
As
I came up to the house that she had just left another woman was still
out on her porch from waving good bye to the woman in the car.
As
I passed the house I indicated to the woman standing in front of her
house that the other woman had really encouraged me and I appreciated
it.
She
then said some encouraging words and added, “I am a walker too.”
I
replied that I wasn't a walker and this was hard for me.
She
said, “Well, keep at it because you look terrific.”
The
next morning I woke up a walker and
really grateful to that woman.
***************************************
From the material that I gave the reporter in July 2016
for the article on my walking adventure for the Mountain News.
I had been walking down Acadia Street - almost home. A car was pulling
out of the driveway of a house up ahead and it pulled up along side
me. The woman rolled her window down and called out, “keep it up,
you're doing great.” Well that was nice to hear. How great was
that? As I came up to the house that she had left I spoke to the
woman who had been waving goodbye from her front porch. I told her
that the woman in the car had been encouraging and that I really
appreciated that. She said something like, “I am a walker too and
we all need encouragement.”
I
replied, “but you don't understand, I am not a walker and this is
really hard for me.”
She
then said, “well keep it up, you look terrific, you can do this.”
The
next morning I woke up with the urge to take a walk.
I
wish I could remember which house it was because I would go back to
try to thank those two women because now I am a walker too.
*************************************
And that brings me to today...
I had rather given up on meeting either of those two women from Acadia Street. What are the odds. I could only guess where one of them might live.
I could not remember exactly which house it was.
I could narrow it down to about five or six houses and
I was not about to go knocking on doors.
Even if I was sure of the house.
What do I say without sounding like a lunatic?
I used to plan my walking routes around coming home that same way so that I would increase my chances of running into her again.
I really wanted the chance to thank her. But once I completed my mission of walking the Hamilton Mountain the routes that I walk now rarely take me down that street. Haven't been down that way for months.
But today I thought that I would walk in that area.
It was recycling day and I could hopefully score some laundry soap container loot while I was out and about.
Wouldn't you know it - the exact time I was walking down that street I saw two ladies that were leaving one of the possible houses it could have been and they were getting into a car.
Now, do I dare ask?
Now, what do I say to them?
"Hey, so did you say something
to someone
in September 2014
when she was walking past your house?"
Well that would be weird.
I gave it a try anyways.
I tried to explain to her how I remembered a conversation
of over two years ago.
The woman said that yes she was a walker.
It took very little conversation for it to become
very apparent to me that she was the one.
I had found her.
I found the woman who's encouraging words
helped me become a walker.
Words that had a huge impact on my life.
Not just cool.
Way cool.
Thanks Barb, you made my day.
