Paris Posse, Clue #4

Description

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

In life, when we face the things we are hesitant to attempt, somehow the pieces all tend to fall into place, and we end up with a pleasant surprise. No one in our group was particularly keen to put on our salesperson caps and approach a stranger. We gathered at the cozy Dog-eared Cafe in Paris Ontario and sat on the edge of our seats. Who should we ask? Maybe the staff would be gracious enough to help us with our challenge. Couldn't we just phone a friend to play the part? The tension mounted as we waited for our last member to join us at the Cafe. Our minds churned with decisions that needed to be made. We kept glancing at a woman who already had a beverage and was working away on her laptop. Time was ticking away and we were determined to get this challenge completed.

On the heels of our last member walking through the door, another woman entered the Cafe. We knew this was the moment! Without a second thought, we approached the woman and asked if we could pay for her purchase. She was ordering To Go, but when we shared that we were part of a women's group completing a challenge, she made time to come to our table and sit with us. Her name is Alyx. She was excited to learn that a group for women meets locally. She said that she was craving connection and opportunities to meet people. We gave her a bookmark and she enthusiastically listened to details about the local WI and how there are groups all over the province. We exchanged social media contact details. It turns out she is a fly-fishing instructor, and one of our WISH group members has always wanted to learn how to fly fish. We snapped a photo together before Alyx had to leave. We were so pleased with the encounter and the connections made. The task that we had been dreading had played out so beautifully. The Dog-eared Cafe was kind enough to allow us to leave a few of our WI bookmarks for other patrons to pick up. The seeds of possibilities had been sown. We parted ways with hearts full of gratitude.

Notes

Submission part of the WISH challenge for WI's 125th anniversary.

Date of Publication

Sep 2022

Subject(s)