Folks.

I did a thing. 

I took the red line to Lincoln Park yesterday. 

Hear me out. 

I’ve never been a public transportation person. Having grown up in the suburbs in Orange County – and having the privilege of having a car in high school and college – I never needed to hop on a bus or train. 

And then, when you’re in your 20s and you STILL haven’t really done the whole public transport thing, it feels all the more intimidating.

I mean, I’ve taken the subway in NY, the metro in DC, the BART and Caltrain in the Bay. But I’ve always done that with other people. To get to a game or to meet up with other friends. 

I’ve never – on my own – looked up the bus schedule to figure out how to get from point A to point B. 

So, yesterday felt like a big accomplishment to this not-so-city girl. 

I just went a couple miles north of where we live. They have a farmer’s market in Lincoln Park that’s a lot less crowded on Wednesdays than on Saturdays when we’ve typically gone. 

And I figured, with no meetings on my schedule today, I could work from anywhere. So why not a coffee shop in LP? 

So I did it. 

Wowie. 

And THEN, when I was all done shopping around at the farmie, I started walking a couple blocks south toward a coffee shop. 

As I was walking, a herd of high school students were walking toward me. And a sweet old woman who was walking behind me looked at me and smiled, saying something about how she was reflecting back on her time as a teacher.

“You were a teacher? I was too!” I responded. 

Carol was her name. 

And Carol and I chatted for several blocks. I passed the coffee shop I was planning to go to because I didn’t want to stop talking to Carol. 

She shared with me about her 35 years with Chicago Public Schools. And then the 10 years after retirement that she spent as a Docent for the Chicago Architecture Foundation. And how she’s been taking care of her husband for the past 10 years. He has Parkinson’s and, “well, through sickness and health, we promised,” she said. 

She was wonderful. She gave me a card with her e-mail addy on it and told me to keep in touch if I had any questions about teaching. And, well, I’m just going to e-mail her for funsies because why the heck not.

Since I had walked more than halfway home, I figured I’d walk the rest of the way. I stopped at Goddess and the Baker for an early lunch and worked from there for a few hours. 

And then walked home with a DEFINITE pep-in-my-step. 

Thank you to Carol for striking up conversation and for making my morning so so happy. 

I don’t know whether it was the pandemic or becoming a mama or because I live a work-from-home lifestyle right now, but I am starting to realize how much I crave that face-to-face connection. A 20-minute walk with Carol made my entire day. Possibly my entire week. 

And I want to find more ways to get out there and do more things where I’m around other people. 

So, that’s the goal. Do more things that make me have a pep-in-my-step. 🙂 

Hope you have a great day today.