The head of our HOA is a gruff, kind of not terribly friendly guy; I mean he is a very nice man, just sometimes seems stressed about everyone running to him with problems or questions, so I've not really been able to ever talk to him much. It occurred to me a few days ago that i hadn't seen him in a few weeks, so I walked over to his house to see if he was out puttering around his garage, and there he was coming out the door. "YUP?" he said.... "WHAT DO YOU NEED?" i guess he's used to people constantly bugging him for things, from the way he kind of glared at me, so I just smiled back and said I was just there to see how he was. "REALLY? YOU DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM OR A COMPLAINT?" I shook my head and said "nope, I'm here to visit YOU", as he paused and actually looked at me. I asked how he was feeling after a recent medical issue, and then about his plans for the extremely hot day. We chatted about a bunch of things that were non-HOA or neighborhood, his truck, lighting on the house, etc., and I could see him kind of soften up. 😊 After a few minutes we both had to get going and parted ways, but not before he said how nice it was just to sit and talk (Ah HA! He wasn't really that gruff after all, just used to everyone WANTING something but probably never really asking about HIM.)
I got a smile as I left, and a reminder that it's good to pay attention to people; not just in their roles or official capacities, but as humans. Maybe our world would be a better place if we all did more of that? It's worth a shot, I think. 🩷
Thanks for stopping by my blog ~ 😊
community first • marketing consultant • advocate for small business • lover
of classic cars • beach girl • believer that "together we accomplish more"
