A friend texted and asked if I wanted to join her on a tour of a historical cemetery in our town. In honor of our city holding its bicentennial year, this tour would tell significant stories through the gravestones of people who shaped our history.
“Sure, that sounds interesting,” I said. She also invited another friend. While waiting for the tour, the three of us struck up a conversation with an additional person. Then together, the four of us hit it off, meandered among graves, learned history, and laughed.
We also shared hopes. We all want to go to as many community events as we can this summer. For a variety of reasons, we want to enjoy our city intentionally. Some of us are new and want to learn the place. Some of us are considering moves and want to savor this time. Some of us are always up for meeting new friends and having adventurous experiences. Before we left, we exchanged numbers and started a group text. Now, having known each other for a total of one week, we’ve already gone to multiple community events together. We’ve also added a fifth person, and I suspect that we’ll add more.
To honor the quirky context of our meeting, we’re colloquially calling ourselves Plots and Places. 🙂 That’s our group thread. We met in the plots; we’re going to the places.
Sometimes, just say yes. You never know what can develop.
— Renee Roederer
Smuggling Grace 