Judy

Today I want to tell you the story of my new friend Judy!

I had some down time today and decided to do one of my favorite Charleston activities and go sit by the bay! I usually go to one of two spots and most of the time it’s very quiet and I am the only one there.

However, today an older woman came up to me and asked to sit on the bench behind me to eat her lunch. She told me this spot was her favorite spot too.

I offered her my seat and said I could leave if she’d like some time alone, but she insisted I stay and we got to talking. This lovely woman’s name is Judy.

She is a single mother who grew up and raised a family in Massachusetts, then moved south once her daughter went to school here. Her daughters now have families of their own and live back up north. Judy and I talked about everything from our families and how we were named (she thinks the name Mary is timeless so big shoutout to Grandmare for that one), to boy advice, to places to hear live music in Charleston.

Nearly two hours go by, and I realize that Judy and I have much more in common than I thought. We both are both still little girls at heart.

She said the phrase “Each year I don’t get older, I get bolder,” and she told me to live by that. She said that there needs to be more moments in our lives where we simply enjoy the simple present. Moments where we can dance to good music without judgement, moments where we (more she hehe) can marvel at how advanced new iPhone camera qualities are haha, or moments where we enjoy a bench near the harbor watching a heron fly by (true event).

What Judy doesn’t know is that she helped ground me in the moment today. I was feeling anxious and she completely took me out of my own head and helped remind me of simple things I can be grateful for.

Judy encouraged me to keep taking photos, keep documenting memories (if it’s something that makes you happy), because one day, those photos might help remind you how precious the simple (or big) things in life really are ◡̈