I, just like most of us, have had times in our lives when we see people that we somewhat know, but don’t know them enough to say that we were ever close. Those moments when you are contemplating saying hi, even if you do, it would never be much more than that. That in-between point between not knowing someone and knowing them well. That uncomfortable feeling where you know them, but you don’t think they know you.
My brother and I were driving through a neighborhood with few garage sales. It didn’t seem like there were going to be any more there so we planned to move on. Right before we exited onto the highway we saw one more and decided to stop. It looked pretty empty regarding anything that could be of interest to a few teenagers anyway. Still, we stopped and as we did I saw two old women sitting atop the porch, which was a widespread occurrence for garage sales previously. Just a stereotypical garage sale.
We looked through everything and it was another spot just like all the others. Nothing worth buying. I was thinking about the next neighborhood we could check out, but I couldn’t stop thinking I recognized one of the old ladies on the porch. I just couldn’t quite figure out who it was. I knew it was a long time ago but I didn’t know how long. Someone from my past that I wasn’t very close with.
All of a sudden it hit me. She was my old preschool teacher Ms. Paula. My next thought that I had was that there was no way she could remember me. She had taught hundreds of kids and I was just one of the average ones. Not standing out in any particular way. Just one person amongst many. An ant within a swarm. I thought in my head, probably what most people would think, I should go and say hello. But I started to second guess myself. Started to think of how it had been 10 years since we had seen each other, how much I had changed, and again about how many kids she had taught before.
My brother said that exact thought that I had in my head, “You should go talk to her.” I thought of how unlikely it would be for her to remember me, but why not I just introduce myself anyway? When I went and started talking to her and by saying her name she immediately asked me if I was Jake. I thought to myself, maybe she does remember me just a little bit.
Just a second later she corrected herself and said, “Jack”. I was so shocked that somehow after all of this time, she still remembered me. Once we started talking I found out that not only did she remember me, but she also had many fond memories from my time in preschool. As we talked she started to mention some of my classmates and some stories of them from preschool. I could tell that we all had an impact on her even though I bet none of us would have ever thought it.
Now that I reflect upon that moment I realize that maybe I was wrong. I was wrong to think you can’t leave a lasting impression on someone’s life. Perhaps I should stop feeding that uncomfortable feeling. Nobody should feed that uncomfortable feeling. We should embrace these types of moments. Now I believe that the in-between point does not exist. Everyone that you know can have an impact on you as well as you can have an impact on them. We all impact each other in our lives, whether we notice or not.