The Connectedness We Share With Strangers

Hi. Welcome to Bloom Anywhere. I'm Gwen Moran, a writer, editor, author, and problem-solver. My goal is to share information, ideas, and resources to help you overcome obstacles, reach your goals, and find more joy in life, even when things are messy. Thanks for joining me. (If you got this from a friend, subscribe here.) I'd love your feedback and suggestions for future topics. Please send me an email at connect@bloomanywhere.com.

Driving along the Massachusetts Turnpike, heading to Maine, I saw the sign for my childhood hometown. It was the first town name I learned and the first I remember living in. It was the place I made my first best friend and where my mother made my fifth birthday cake from a Betty Crocker boxed mix.

I decided to pull off the highway and see if I could find the house. I didn't remember the number, but I remembered the street name and put it into my GPS. This sort of mental detritus takes up the spaces I could use to remember where I put my car keys or whether we are out of half-and-half.

A Little Search

A few minutes later, I pulled onto the tiny street, and there it was. The siding was new. There was a fence around the side yard that hadn't been there when I was a child. I drove slowly by the house, marveling at the memories that rushed back. Swimming in the above-ground pool. Playing with our dog. Harvesting tomatoes from the small rock garden my mother planted.

I parked to take one last look, and three people came out of the house to head to their cars. I hopped out and said, "Hello." I wondered if they had seen me, and I didn't want them to wonder about that creepy car passing slowly by their house. They were relatives of the person who lived there, who was under the weather. We chatted for a bit, and they told me the house was for sale. I told them that our family had such happy memories there.

After we said "goodbye," I thought about the families that had lived in that house and all that had happened within. The joyful moments and the tears. All of our families were connected by the shared experience of living somewhere no one else had. Soon, a new family would become part of that history. I silently wished them all well.

Shared Connection

The experience made me think about the many ways we're connected to people we don't know through a shared connection or experience. Something so simple can turn a stranger into something else. Then it occurred to me that we share experiences with every other human on the planet: navigating this world in human bodies. Of feeling love that can't be measured. Of feeling crushing pain. Of being afraid or angry or awe-struck.

We all live our lives in the same house. That reminder gave me a warmer feeling toward the people I encountered that day. Even the guy who cut in front of me at the convenience store.

As always, I'd love to hear from you: connect@bloomanywhere.com.