by McKayla Holson, Editorial Editor
Have you ever thought about the relationships you create and don’t get to keep?
We always talk about the big, memorable relationships throughout our lives that we develop and use to help us grow and succeed in life, but what about the little ones?
Working as a waitress, I have my “regulars.” People who come in often, who I know what they’re drinking and who tell me little tidbits of their lives.
I have the man who comes in who always gets a Dr. Pepper and who almost always gets a hamburger.
I have the man who strolls in and has a couple of Keystones before ordering a hamburger slider while he tells me about his day and asks me if I’ve been staying out of trouble.
There’s the man who always wants a water, a diet Dr. Pepper and his “round” burger with no cheese or onions and a side of chips.
I have the couple who always gets a water and a tea, the group of guys who always need a full pitcher of tea, the two who always drink Coronas with lime, the two guys who always come in for a few beers and wings.
I can point all these people out, tell you little tidbits about them and they could probably tell you tidbits about me, but that’s as far as those relationships will ever go.
I’ll eventually have to move on from my job and leave them.
They’ll probably forget about me, but I will always remember them.
And it’s not just that job. I’ve worked at a state park for over four and a half years now, of course I know almost all the regulars.
There’s one guy who likes to tape things to the vehicle I’m driving just to mess with me, the guy who always stops by to tell me how his mom is doing and give me updates on the work he has done on his RZR, the man who has a pet skunk named Sissy and an absolutely adorable dog who is so protective over those two and countless others.
I know a lot about people in the surrounding businesses, I know so much about past employees. But, again, that’s where those relationships end.
What do I do with these?
I have all this information for all of these people and I have no idea what to do with it.
I know about the lives of my classmates, random people I see on campus, professors I’ve only had a class with once or maybe not at all and I don’t know what to do with all of that.
I don’t think people realize and understand just how many relationships they develop in life. Relationships that won’t stick around for forever, but relationships that randomly pop into your head years after you had forgotten all about them.
I’m probably just overthinking all of these random interactions, but I like the idea of everything having reason and meaning.
It’s probably weird, but I cherish these relationships. It’s like having hundreds of storybooks.