We each meet many people along the journey of our lives. Some play an extended role, for years or maybe most of our lifetime. Others might only be a 'blip' on our timeline. Yet everyone we meet leaves footprints - on our lives, our hearts, our habits, our thoughts.
Simply stated, we are made up of pieces of ALL of the people who we meet and experience in our lifetime. And sometimes we can even see this in the simplest parts of our days.
As I was eating breakfast this morning - a bagel with jelly topped with thinly sliced Havarti cheese - I recalled one of the individuals with whom I stayed during a trip to Denmark years ago. Quite honestly, every time I eat this particular pairing for breakfast, he is the first person who comes to mind. When I stayed with him and had this for breakfast for the very first time, he instructed me that "the jelly always goes on before the cheese, so it doesn't get in your mustache." If you haven't guessed it, he had a thick, full mustache. I, of course, did not. However, to this very day, this is STILL exactly how I make my bagels when I put jelly and cheese on them.
I love that people can forever be a part of us in such simple, yet memorable ways.
He has since passed away, so I can't share this story with him. However, I believe that those who are special to us do know when we think about them or speak to them and say their names aloud. I'm quite sure that my Danish friend would be amused at me telling this story and by the fact that I still to this day (19 years later, I might add), follow his instructions on how to prepare my breakfast. I like to think that he would be proud that I've remembered that, as well as the Danish phrases and words that he took time to teach me that I remember to this day. I only stayed with him for a few days (no more than 2-3) all those years ago, but I still hold pieces of our experience and time together in my heart, memories and habits.
REFLECTION: In the coming week, see if you can discover someone who has impacted your life in simple, everyday ways.
(Photo Credit: Nathalia Segato, Unsplash)