When I arrived in New York for the first time ever, I was faced with this realization in an amazing way. The hotel employees at Buffalo were welcoming, charming and accomodating. The employees at our Rochester hotel left much to be desired. As we arrived at the hotel seeking valet service, we soon found that there was none to be had. We were immediately greeted with a parking deck that was a hot mess. This was only preceeded by a vagabond who aggressively persisted for monetary gifts. Upon finding our way through the maze of ply wood, concrete slabs and crime tape we found a very tight parking space. Relieved to be parked, we walked toward an entrace of the hotel. This was when we realized that there was no elevator and we must drag our 200 lbs of luggage down two flights of stairs. Once we made our way inside of the hotel, it was realized that we must go up a flight of stairs with our belongings only to go down an escalator to check in and finally to go up an eleavator to our room. Up, down, up down...isn't that like life though?! Sometimes we go up, but ups are always followed by downs. To go up, we must go down.
On my last night in Rochester, my colleague, Chrissie and I were determined to have a bit of fun. We had worked hard for three days and wanted to end our trip with one last, sweet memory. As part of our job, we were recruiting new teachers to come to NC. They were precious! They were inspiring, and the vast commonality among the female candidates was that they wore Alex and Ani bracelets. Chrissie decided we needed one too! We began our adventure which involved obtaining one of these. We had directions from an interviewee and high hopes of securing one soon. With a pit stop at Nick Tahou's for a first time garbage plate experience for me, we had planned to grab something else for Chrissie. We detoured by Wegmens to "ooohhh" and "ahhhh" at this impressive grocery store, and we began to search for Chrissie some sustenance. We soon forgot the main goal of our mission--the elusive bracelet.
When Chrissie recalled our goal,we realized that we were lost; however, we soon found an Alex and Ani's on Culver Street at the Armory. I was excited! This part of Rochester was beautiful, warm, friendly, crisp and inviting. Upon leaving NC, my mom gave me some money that she asked me to use to buy myself something special. She and my father had planned to travel when she retired, and New York was on their bucket list. This was not to come to fruition due to my dad's failing health. Mom said, "Lisa, your dad and I would want you to buy yourself something special from us. I wish we had been able to go to NY together, but we are happy that you are. Have fun, and get something to remember your trip." I honestly was only 50% committed to this. I wasn't sure if I could own something that reminded me of what my dad could never do...would never be able to do, but nonetheless the moment had come.
It was surreal. When Chrissie and I entered Alex and Ani's I was amazed at how beautiful the jewelry was. I was also a little saddened as I remembered Dad. It was at that moment that we were greeted with the most precious and very young sales ladies. They said, "Ladies, are you here for our event?" I replied that we had just come to purchase a bracelet, but that we were curious about the event. She begain to explain that the event was to raise funds for literacy as a memorial for a deceased, prominent, local educator. She showed me the table where they had punch and treats and decorations of such books as The Hungry Caterpillar. She bragged and gleamed at her decorating efforts that honored children's literature. She said "...and by the way, Ladies, twenty percent of your purchase tonight goes toward this cause for promoting literacy in our area."
What? Was this real? What were the chances that we would actually be here? What were the chances we'd find this store on this night...or what were the chances we would even want to find it after getting lost? What were the chances that on the one day at the one moment when Alex and Ani were honoring teachers, education and literacy that we would be there? I began to cry. I wasn't sad. They were tears of happiness. They were tears of gratefulness. I was overwhelmed by the perfection of the moment. Two of the three young ladies attending to us were prospective teachers and they loved sharing with us about education, and they loved bouncing ideas off of us.The charms they showed me were exactly what I would have chosen: Ladybug (my nickname which means happiness and affection), anchor (which means hope, tranquility, stability), hummingbird (which means awakening, healing, eternity) and an apple (which means insight, wisdom, teacher). I cried tears even as my efforts to hold them back were unsuccessful. How perfect! This would have been just how my dad would have done it. "Surprise! Lisa, it's a party! You don't need to be sad that I'm not here, Ladybug! You need to be excited. I am always proud of you my teacher girl! I am always proud of you, and you're going to make it. Daddy, loves you!" Not only did he invest in me, but he invested in my profession. He invested 20% in literacy which is my passion! That is my dad, and that is my mom!
Working to bite back tears as I stared out at the gorgeous park in front of me, I realized that Chrissie still needed to eat, and I wasn't sure what we would do. It was in that moment that one of the sweet girls who was checking me out said out of the blue, "Have you tried, Trata, next door?" I said, "No. Is it a bakery?" (I had seen a bakery beside it). She said, "No, there is a bakery near it, but Trata is a great restaurant that serves burgers, sweet potato fries and other great food!" Wow! Even that detail was taken care of! We had found food for Chrissie, and the atmosphere in that place was awesome! As we ate, laughed and reflected on the irony of it all, I just kept thinking: "Some people live a lifetime for a moment like this". It came to mind as I basked in the way things had perfectly aligned, that this was one of those moments you don't forget. Getting lost was an awesome happenstance that led to being found.
Life is amazing. It is perplexing and beautiful. Its complexities that are paralleled by its simplicities create a beautiful canvas! Sometimes we must go down in order to go up. Sometimes we must be lost in order to be found. Sometimes we must lose in order to win. Sometimes we must relinquish control in order to stand our ground. Sometimes we must give the very thing we wish to receive...and sometimes...just sometimes we must do nothing but simply enjoy the perfection that was gifted to us for no reason at all...except that we are loved!
Picture of the Literacy Event Complete with Children's Book Captions over the Food
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