Small Business Love

 Happy Aloha Wednesday!

Something that has brought me joy and stress relief is laughing at myself. One of my best personal assets is my ability to stay grounded and humble - that even when I considered myself to have "made it" many years ago, I still treated everyone with respect no matter who they were / what they did. 

You may read this passage, laugh and think "Made it? But Heidi, look at your current situation." Yeah, to me: I thought I had 'made it'.

What did 'making it' mean? I streamlined my life to the point where I felt I harmonized many parts of it (family, career, community & athletics) and once a week, I'd get out on my inflatable SUP for 30-60 minutes for an ‘extended’ lunch break around Bair Island. I'd block out as much distraction as I could, soak in the sun, watch the seals and think "wow, I've made it." Ha! But yeah, an hour of peace and sunshine constituted "making it".

Fast forward many years later to present day, and I realized what a 'bubble' I was living in. Look at all the family and so-called friends who deserted me at my time of greatest need. I digress....

Laughing at myself and actions over the past 16 months, including the ways I tried to survive... well, gosh, it is funny to me. One of the most wholesome methods of survival for me was reconnecting and sending notes of gratitude to small business owners in Redwood City - where I own my condo and have done business/been a resident for the past 14 years.

While living in my car last summer, as part of my daily routine, I called up a few owners to say I miss them and I hope to see them soon! Despite them not offering me a free load of laundry or meal, etc (when I could have used the help, especially a year ago!), I do believe they were doing the best they could with their businesses and I truly miss seeing them on a daily basis. Plus, when I visited Donato Enoteca (a long-time fav!) in the winter of 2023, I was bought my dinner by a local Stanford psychologist and her husband, who also offered to crew me if I ever ran the Barkely Marathons (we actually devised a funny one-loop plan with a pineapple..) This couple was so entertaining and sweet and while I didn't get a 'court note', the Stanford psych confirmed my ex is an a$$hole (like I needed that, but still - how kind!).

One of the small business owners I contacted was Lara from Lara's Cleaners & Alterations on El Camino. Last winter (of 2023-2024), I gave Lara an inexpensive bottle of bubbly to celebrate my divorce papers being served :) She was my dry cleaner for many years and when I started buying myself lingerie in the fall of 2023 (someone had to!), she politely named them 'tunics'. Oh, and I got a funny story about losing a tunic out of the window, while blasting Benson Boone (one of my favorite music artists!) - will save that for another day.

Why share so many details of my journey? At this point, why not? Hopefully it'll give you a laugh, perspective and provide you with some faith in humanity. 

With Aloha,

Heidi