Bon Appetit

Lia:

As it happens, my ‘say yes’ started last night.

I have likely mentioned the baristas at my favourite coffee shop – Sorry Coffee Co. They have helped me settle in a new city, have made me feel welcome, have entertained me and celebrated my successes – probably not always realizing how much they did for me. In any case, I am a regular there, and know them all by name and a little bit about their lives. Yesterday, when I went in for my coffee, the manager told me they were having a little get together to say farewell to two of the team. One has moved on to a new career and the other is going to Norway. They are both part of the original five that started when the coffee house opened almost two years ago. He then invited me to the party. I made a silly a comment about the meet up time being around bedtime (completely true, ha ha), and then said I would look up the place and maybe stop by.

I was hesitant because I have just returned from travelling and was tired. But by noon I had decided that I would go. That I was being invited into a group that I truly enjoy and that made me a special ‘regular’ so I thought it was an opportunity I shouldn’t pass up. So I said yes!! I was inspired by the sense of connection that I have with this group, but also how important connection is to me.

Bonus: it did lead to a pretty fabulous night. They were all surprised and delighted when I showed up, with a round of hugs. I only stayed for about an hour, but it was worth it – worth staying up and losing a little sleep (it was almost the weekend, after all). It was a positive experience. The manager said that he invited many regulars (what, I wasn’t the only one! ha ha), and I’m the only one who showed up. Wonderful!

Adrienne:

Wow! This is so cool! A definite honour! I LOVE that you said yes and went, so you. Those are the things I would love to go to, but I would make an excuse. This is so inspiring!

I got an invite to go out for dinner with some new friends. I’m pretty tired too, and absolutely in work-mode. In my head and in my plans I can’t afford the time, but it will be so lovely to spend some time with all of them. They go out regularly, and like you, it feels great to be included. These women are local to me, and all really interesting, How could I not say yes aka NO?!

I’m really looking forward to it. I get to dress up a little and I get to have some time with family that I don’t normally see. I’m also looking forward to some different head space. I do feel like I’m on another planet right now! That’s not a bad thing at all, but some familiarity will be settling I think, not to mention how taking my foot off the gas generally allows for the solutions or next steps to get thunk-up. Looking forward to THAT too!

So, I said yes. I was going to build an out into my yes-reply, but in the end I didn’t. I decided the good company and the break from working will make the tasks of the next week be completed more easily… and that’s a Huge yes! Also, when you are new to an area (I’m not new in Hamilton, but these women are fairly new to me.), you say yes to invitations like these. If you say no, they assume you are not interested next time.

Lia:

That is huge and well done on this one. When you’re on the move, mentally and physically, a slow down can seem like the absolute wrong idea; however, as you have so rightly pointed out, it will be good to be distracted so that your brain can take a break or work on things in the background.

I do get energy from interacting with people, I get excited about connecting. And I had a great feeling after going to this event last night. Just the look on their faces – it was nice to be included. While I was doing all the mass visiting this past week, and was tired, I also received an energy boost from talking and connecting with close friends. While I know that you may not get as much energy from these sorts of experiences, I think you have chosen wisely, by saying yes to one that will give you the most return for your time. Happy chatting and noshing!