I talk to a lot of people in my new job. As in eight hours a day. Most of the time, it's redundant. "Hello, this is Makaela calling with..." or, "Thank you for calling...this is Makaela, how may I help you?"
I also work at a restaurant on the weekends my daughter is with her dad. I also have a cleaning business, am a process server, and occasionally sell toothpaste. Here and there, I add more random jobs. A girl had to get by.
But in this job, where I talk so much I find myself acting out my script, I actually meet some pretty amazing people. Encouragers. Givers. Fighters. Dreamers.
Today I spoke with a woman for at least the fifth time in two days. She is lovely. If distance weren't a thing, I think we'd be friends. I also spoke with a woman who shared she is bipolar and spent time in jail this year. Yesterday, I spoke with a woman who spent 26 years in prison and is out on parole for another eight years. The day before, I spoke to a kind man who spent his young adult life in jail for child endangerment and assault. All of these people have one thing in common. They've faced their past and are trying to make a better future for themselves.
My heart went out to each of them. Sometimes, I don't like placing people on hold, so I don't press the hold button. I keep them on the line and work my little skills in the background telling them what I'm looking for. I stay engaged. I hear their kids. I hear their reality. I hear their reactions. One person even said they had to pee. I laughed because I had to also.
What I've found is in being real with those on the other side of the line, allows them to be real with me. And we connect.
Connection makes all the difference.