JB: A New Balance

I love mixing sporty pieces with fancy things, like this sleek jumpsuit with running shoes and a structured oversized clutch. The red lip and plaid shirt adds a nice pop of color and texture to balance it all out. It's fun remixing my wardrobe to create a fresh and unexpected look.

I had a couple of memorable incidents that happened this year, I feel like sharing them with you today! You know when you run into someone and you know that it wasn't an accident, but more like a divine appointment?

I was serving a table of 14 sweet old ladies, who appeared to be in their 70's. A few had canes, some were in decent shape, a couple slowly hobbled around. But they were the most bubbly and beautiful ladies I've ever waited on, I watched and listened as they swapped stories from back in the day, called out inside jokes across the table, laughed and hugged and stayed for hours thoroughly enjoying each other's company. Even after dessert and closing out their tab they congregated outside the front of the restaurant for another hour or so giggling and chatting away in their own little world! It was adorable and so refreshing. Their joy and good time was contagious, so of course I had to ask one of the women how they all knew each other. She lit up and looked at me with a twinkle in her eye and replied that they were best friends that graduated high school together, over 50 years ago! Although they had dispersed all over California, and even one of them to a different state, they got together at a restaurant of their choice once a month to spend time connecting and catching up. I'm sure I looked like a fool standing there when my jaw dropped to the floor, eyes in awe of this history not 2, not 5, but fourteen women had built together for twice as long as I've been breathing! I could hardly believe it. It was so refreshing and inspiring at the same time, like a warm breeze on the first day of spring.

Within two weeks of serving those 14 ladies, I waited on an elderly couple. You know, the kind that you can't imagine when they were not together, they are like peas in a pod. Lively, comical and content. Somewhere along the line we started chatting about friendships and life, since this couple by now had been married longer than they had lived single. The gentleman was a talkative jokester and his wife the smiling, watchful sweetheart. She hadn't said much so far but when we started on that topic she lit up and said something to me that felt so significant. She said, "I have stayed friends with someone from every season in my life. Each one reminds me of where I came from, who I was then and who I am now. I need to remember who I am in every time in my life."

There are little gems for us hidden every day when we stay present and look for them.

I hope these little stories inspired you like they did for me!