{"id":2404,"date":"2024-12-31T04:41:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T04:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/?p=2404"},"modified":"2024-12-31T05:15:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T05:15:04","slug":"local-interactions-make-a-good-day-into-a-great-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/31\/local-interactions-make-a-good-day-into-a-great-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Interactions Make a Good Day into a Great Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Social experiences during the Christmas season often feel like a whirlwind. I have trouble taking <\/span>them <\/span>all in because it\u2019s like the speed is to<\/span>o<\/span> fast\u2014almost like the activities are a vinyl album played <\/span>on a turntable <\/span>at 45 instead of 33 \u00bd. <\/span> E<\/span>very<\/span> sound <\/span>is higher pitched and<\/span> too<\/span> fast. It\u2019s difficult to comprehend<\/span>!<\/span><\/p>

A few days after Christmas I reflected on the whirlwind. I <\/span>found myself especially happy about Christmas Eve<\/span>. I perceive that\u2019s<\/span> because <\/span>the <\/span>activities were highly personal<\/span> and<\/span> the right speed<\/span>. My adult-age sons were home<\/span>. I<\/span>n the morning<\/span>,<\/span> we briefly chatted <\/span>before<\/span> going our<\/span> own <\/span>ways<\/span> for<\/span> last-minute holiday preparations. <\/span><\/p>

I <\/span>had multiple errands. <\/span>I was especially fortunate t<\/span>hat I<\/span> decide<\/span>d<\/span> to purchase dinner rolls <\/span>from Great Harvest Bread Company.<\/span> U<\/span>nbeknownst to me, it was their last day in business. O<\/span>wner Julie Damschroder<\/span> has <\/span>decided to move on to ranching with her brother in Kansas after 17 years. Prior to owning the bread store, she was a corporate attorney. She is highly talented and a generous person. When I worked for McKee Wellness from 2014-2017, I visited her each year on the day before Thanksgiving. She gave the nonprofit organization<\/span> hundreds of<\/span> packages of bread, and<\/span> pumpkin and apple pies as prizes for the healthcare foundation<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s annual <\/span>T<\/span>urkey <\/span>T<\/span>rot<\/span> fundraiser<\/span>. The in-kind donations made the event a little more unique and <\/span>extra <\/span>special. <\/span>After the race, p<\/span>articipants beamed holding their c<\/span>herished<\/span> baked goods. <\/span><\/p>

Back to Christmas Eve <\/span>inside<\/span> Julie\u2019s <\/span>bakery<\/span>,<\/span> there was<\/span> tremendous <\/span>emotion in the <\/span>warm <\/span>air.<\/span> Two different sets of college students and their moms talked with Julie about how much the store meant to them. One young man was holding<\/span> loaves<\/span> like <\/span>small <\/span>babies. He had the sorriest look<\/span> on his face<\/span>! He told Julie that visiting<\/span> her store <\/span>was the first place he stopped <\/span>whenever he returned home.<\/span> Another young woman shyly told Julie that she worked there in high school. Julie enthusiastically responded, \u201cOh, do I have your photo? I have a photo wall with employees. Please, come back with me and I\u2019ll take your picture! I want your picture.\u201d<\/span> I left <\/span>the store with my arms full of baked goods. I was <\/span>happy to be a small part of such a bittersweet day!<\/span><\/p>

My next stop was a gift to myself. <\/span>I <\/span>calendar<\/span>ed<\/span> ice skating with <\/span>my<\/span> close friend<\/span> Diane<\/span>. For the last six years, we<\/span> have been<\/span> ice skating<\/span> annually<\/span>; <\/span>it\u2019s a highlight of<\/span> my <\/span>year<\/span>. <\/span>This time we <\/span>met at the EPIC Ice <\/span>Arena, a <\/span>public rink that offer<\/span>s<\/span> fitness <\/span>skate<\/span>. We weren\u2019t going to be slowed down by <\/span>children<\/span> learning to skate. Instead, we found ourselves surrounded by athletes practicing their ice dance routines. We were able to <\/span>avoid <\/span>collisions<\/span>, <\/span>fit<\/span> in a little <\/span>exercise<\/span>,<\/span> and <\/span>share good memories of<\/span> skating together in the past.<\/span><\/p>

Next, I needed to fulfill a promise to<\/span> a friend at my<\/span> church. I agreed to drop off <\/span>small gift <\/span>bags <\/span>with<\/span> cookies and battery-operated candles <\/span>to <\/span>older adults<\/span>. They are members who are <\/span>no longer <\/span>able<\/span> to attend church in person. <\/span>I felt good helping <\/span>three individuals know that they are seen and remembered.<\/span> T<\/span>hey could enjoy cookies and participate in <\/span>that night\u2019s <\/span>Candlelight Service and group <\/span>singing of Silent Night<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>

After visiting with the last person on my list, I<\/span> stopped at the grocery store to find an empty <\/span>wall <\/span>cooler with a sign that read, \u201cEggnog SOLD OUT.\u201d I <\/span>complained <\/span>aloud<\/span> with <\/span>the other shoppers<\/span>. W<\/span>e laughed about waiting until the last minute. It was communal <\/span>kvetching and a balm to not having eggnog this year.<\/span><\/p>

I returned home to find <\/span>package<\/span>s<\/span> from Amazon and Shutterfly<\/span> on my porch<\/span>. <\/span>Even though s<\/span>hopping local is important to me<\/span>, I buy some things online<\/span>. <\/span>A Drop-Shipping business, <\/span>Oblero<\/span> estimates that 41 percent of holiday shopping is completed online. Even though some online shopping is necessary, <\/span>my husband and I <\/span>are small business owners. We <\/span>highly value local business<\/span> and <\/span>supporting<\/span> local business owners. T<\/span>he <\/span>in-person <\/span>shopping that I did <\/span>this year with local businesses<\/span> was fulfilling. When<\/span> shopping<\/span> local<\/span>ly<\/span> and interact<\/span>ing <\/span>with others, we hear stories from neighbors<\/span> and get to hug friends we haven\u2019t seen in years<\/span>. We <\/span>connect with<\/span> the actual people who benefit from <\/span>our <\/span>purchase<\/span>s<\/span>. Our dollar goes further. <\/span><\/p>

Sustainable Connections, a nonprofit organization in Washington state<\/span>, summarizes why it\u2019s economically important to shop local: \u201c<\/span>Small-scale, locally owned businesses create communities that are\u00a0<\/span>more prosperous<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>connected<\/span>, and generally\u00a0<\/span>better-off<\/span>\u00a0across a wide range of metrics.\u00a0When we buy from independent, locally owned businesses, rather than national chains, a significantly greater portion of our money is then cycled back through our local economy \u2014 to make purchases from our friends\u2019 businesses, to aid our neighbors in need, and to support our local farms \u2014\u00a0<\/span>ultimately strengthening the base of our whole community.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> Strengthening our community is a gift that last<\/span>s<\/span> long past the holiday season. <\/span><\/p>

After my errands and shopping w<\/span>ere<\/span> done, my family and I went to my<\/span> mom\u2019s home <\/span>for a cherished tradition of cheese <\/span>fondue. <\/span>With full bellies, my mom, husband, sons and I <\/span>attended the Christmas Eve service together. We have differing <\/span>faith practices<\/span> and<\/span> belief in <\/span>God, yet we all left the <\/span>First United Presbyterian Church <\/span>service smiling and content. We shared a local experience. We shared support of a local business. Yes, <\/span>even a <\/span>church is a business<\/span>. It <\/span>employs people and <\/span>definitely <\/span>supports<\/span> a city\u2019s economy. <\/span><\/p>

My<\/span> 2024 Christmas Eve was <\/span>memorable because it<\/span> was local with family, friends, neighbors, and <\/span>in-person<\/span> shoppers. I plan to repeat it next year. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Social experiences during the Christmas season often feel like a whirlwind. I have trouble taking them all in because it\u2019s like the speed is too fast\u2014almost like the activities are a vinyl album played on a turntable at 45 instead of 33 \u00bd. Every sound is higher pitched and too fast. It\u2019s difficult to comprehend! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2404"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2420,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404\/revisions\/2420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}