New in Town: What's Your Story?

When I think about being “New in Town”, the first thing that comes to mind is home.

What makes a home?

I could tell you the long, drawn out, dramatic story of how we were finally able to purchase our house…it really is pretty intense, and maybe we’ll go there another day.

But when I think of home?

I think of people.

And their stories.

We moved to Illinois on a late July day in 2010. Other than a quick hello from a new neighbor, we didn’t meet anyone else that day. I’m not sure we expected to…or if we expected anything…but I know we were lonely.

We had some things we needed to get done the next day, but before we did them, we stopped at the Starbucks on Route 31, ordered a drink, and sat down outside to catch up on online life…with my hubby being an IT guy and me a blogger, neither of us can stand to be without the internet for long.

There was a sweet older couple there with their golden retriever, and we started to chat with them. They asked about our baby girl, who was just six weeks old at the time, and the conversation eventually led to them telling us about the area…how they’d lived here for a long time and how they really loved it.

As we continued to talk, we also connected the fact that they’d once lived just a few blocks down the street from where we now lived.

Small world.

Our talk ended after probably 30 minutes, and we said goodbye.

I haven’t seen them since, though I frequent that Starbucks, usually now by drive-thru.

What this couple doesn’t know is that by connecting with them and sharing our stories, they actually helped us to become a little more part of our neighborhood. They talked to a friend of theirs, one who still lives on our street. She, along with her daughter-in-law, walked up and down the street until they figured out who we were and met us a few weeks later.

New friends…something we were very, very thankful for.

Since that day, we’ve had the privilege to meet a lot of people and trade stories with them. Those stories are so much a part of how we’ve felt connected here even if we’ve only lived in the area for a little over a year. I love the people we’ve met who’ve become part of our lives and have let us be a part of theirs, too.

Even at my (very) part-time job, I’m amazed at the conversations I have and stories I share with people who just come in to grab a cup of java. There are often small-world connections or sometimes just a shared interest…but it makes the busyness and often-impersonality of the world seem a little less so.

Those stories have helped make this home.

I’d love to get to know more of you. If you feel comfortable sharing a bit, leave me a comment; otherwise you can contact me at mel@barefootmel.com.

What’s your story? I’d love to hear it.