I went to the Longest Table event in Emporia today at noon. It was a gathering of I would guess 80 plus people that shared a meal together at one long table. Its purpose was to help people connect to others. Not sure how successful that was but I did appreciate the effort.
I saw some people I hadn’t seen for a long time which was nice. Met a couple new people. I did introduce myself to a mother and son and had a nice conversation with the mother. I found out she also attended Hartford High School but is 10 years younger than me so I didn’t know her.
Shared with a few the Love in Action story. Not sure how the story landed. One of the people had been incarcerated himself and knew the Captain of the Center I work with.
Came home exhausted. That type of social setting is very draining to me and I usually avoid them. Making small talk with strangers is hard for me, especially sitting at a table where you can’t mix and go. I left as soon as it felt politically correct that I could do so. Not sure if there was a program of sorts after I left or not. I thought they were going to have some live entertainment but if they did I left before that happened. I didn’t see a lot of people mixing with people they didn’t know. It probably happened more than I realized.
I stopped and filled the car with gas and then came home. I laid down for a bit but woke up with acid reflux – I really dislike when that happens. I had trouble falling and staying asleep all night last night. I am really tired again today.
Nothing on my calendar for all of next week. I should have lots of empty space to get done some little projects I need to do around the house that I have been neglecting.
The weather is starting to look a bit threatening again. I have had a headache again today but think it is weather and allergy related. Kathy spent a lot of time outside today pulling weeds. They were easy to pull since we got rain earlier this week.
I feel relief that today’s event is over and my calendar is empty for the next week. I reached my limit of being with people today and it will take me a couple days to refill. Some people really love events like today but I am not one of them.
Grateful people are working to help others connect, grateful the deviled egg plate was empty, and grateful I have lots of empty space to recover.