Most days are similar to the ones before. We make things special by celebrating holidays, going on vacation, or planning something different. Sometimes a special day comes in an unexpected way and where it leads you is somewhere you never could have imagined.
As children a lot of us have visions of how our adult lives will look. We dream big or romanticize things with a light in our eyes. Holding onto that magic and belief from childhood gets harder and harder as the years go on and the road twists and turns in ways we didn’t anticipate. The light dims and sometimes it even goes out, foregoing the desire of the dreams all together.
I woke up on April 18 2021 completely unaware of what the day would bring.
The day before my computer broke. The black screen of death fell upon it and the nice lady from Apple on the other end of the phone let me know that I needed to take it to the store. There was one appointment left the next day at the nearest store, 90 minutes away. Did I want it? Well, no. Not really. I was getting ready for a hiking trip and leaving the next day but I would need my computer when I came back. I didn’t want to stress about it while I was gone so yes, I did want the appointment.
I headed to Apple the next afternoon and got things taken care of. I treated myself to a new phone too because why not. As I got in the car I tried to decide where to eat. I didn’t want to go any of my usual spots because all of the Covid restrictions were frustrating but I wanted to support a small business because of all of the Covid restrictions. I finally decided to stop at a farm to table spot on the way home.
It was later on a Sunday evening when I placed my order. Rain poured down and not many people were out and about. I parked in front of the entrance and dashed in really quick to grab my food. This was a family run business, quite well known in their small town, so I recognized the mother as the one taking my payment. They were always pretty friendly there so I didn’t find it unusual for her to be chatting with me. After a few minutes of small talk someone that I recognized as one of the brothers came over and started talking. He waited on my (now ex) boyfriend and I just a few weeks ago. During that visit I asked him about his shoes because I noticed that he was wearing a barefoot shoe brand that I really wanted to try.
Coming back a few weeks later, I expected nothing more than casual conversation but for some reason on that night we hit it off. We talked, and talked, and talked.
I don’t remember much of what we talked about but I know a lot of it was political in nature or about Covid stuff. Probably not the best thing to talk about with someone you barely know, but also one of the best things to talk about to see if that person might be one of your people. And during that time period, it seems like those two topics were all that anyone was talking about. I mean, how could we not?
Finally, after a great conversation I knew I had to get going and he had to get back to work so I said my goodbyes and left.
As I was driving home I was like ohhh shit. There was definitely a connection. Right? Or was I just making it up? No, there was definitely a connection.
This was during the mold times so I was still very much in a 6 year relationship with my then boyfriend… but also, I knew I was on the way out.
I went home, packed my camping gear, and went to bed. The next morning I woke up and headed to Virginia to hike. The whole dang trip I was thinking about the brother from the farm to table restaurant and the ERMI mold test that should have arrived while I was gone.
There was a lot riding on the results of the mold test and as soon as I got back home I went to the mold home to test it, sent off the sample, and waited.
Meanwhile, I was still thinking about farm to table brother and I knew that I’d be going back again that weekend to get more food.
That Saturday I ordered food and went to pick it up. Another brother was at the front counter and I was disappointed to see him. (Side note, that hasn’t changed) I had to wait a few minutes for my food and to my surprise, when it came out so did the preferred brother. I had a couple of boxes of food that he handed off with a smile and I was on my way. I get out to my car with the desire to sample the food before making the trip home. As I remove the top box I see his phone number on the bottom box.
I was in a relationship for over 6 years at this point and the entire time I did not receive one phone number. Not one! And since my boyfriend travelled very often for work, I was out in the world doing things myself always. Not a single phone number. Until now.
I decided to text farm to table brother the next day. In less than two weeks the mold results came back, I broke up with my boyfriend, and I never stopped texting the farm to table brother. In fact, I started hanging out with him and unbeknownst to me, we would get married a year and a half later all because of a broken computer.
Living in alignment and accepting divine guidance allows yourself to be led and can bring back that light that we have as children. Sure, things are different because we are no longer children, but there can be magic in adulthood too. It’s cliche, but we never know what the day will bring. How can you shift your perspective to see the magic in mundane moments?
Being able to recognize that sometimes the challenges we face lead us to the greatest gifts is a gift in itself. The shift of perception brings a power into your life that not only lights you up, but as a result lights everyone else around you up too.
You never know what the day will bring. You might just wake up one day and meet the person you’re going to marry or receive an offer for your dream job or finally find the perfect house to buy. It could all come on the coattails of curiosity or stress of what will come from a trip to Apple for a broken computer. The beautiful thing is that we get to choose.
“I hope you see your life for the grand love story that it is. I hope you bathe in the silence of the morning, before the world pierces you with its chaos. I hope you have makeshift meals in candlelight and your home is filled with the deep belly laughter of friends. I hope you allow life to shock you—fall in love with the person you never expected to, move somewhere unfamiliar, pick up the childhood hobby you discarded in the name of practicality. I hope you live a thousand lifetimes within one. Redefine who you are and what you value not on the last day of the year, but with every fresh breath life gives you, because god knows we don’t know how many we have. I hope you are gentle with yourself. That you treat failure and heartbreak with the same reverence you do success and falling in love, because it is all a sign of our courage. It is all bringing us closer to what it means to be human. Treat your life as the grand love story that it is, because every mundane and small detail of your life matters. The details are the little notes we contribute to the universe’s great symphony. And isn’t that the greatest gift of all? To join the dance.”
- Allie Michele
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