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Part 1 - The Kindness of Strangers

Today will be a two part adventure.

When I published the last post about the beginning of the carriage house I realized that I forgot to give credit to the teams that have helped us on this journey so far. And I will make sure to include them moving forward.

But before we get to that...

We moved to Southern Illinois knowing absolutely zero people. We get a couple of responses to that tidbit. 1. Why did you leave Colorado for Southern Illinois? 2. How did you move somewhere knowing no one? Both valid questions. To answer the second one - we believe in our vision, ourselves, and each other. Our philosophy is very simple. Be kind. Be honest. Act with integrity. Those values are solid and work anywhere, so why not try something scary?!

So here we are. Strangers in a new town trying to navigate, integrate, and innovate. Hmm, that came out catchier than intended. And as humans do, we bring our own bias - some conscious, other subconscious. It has been enjoyable peeling back the layers of assumptions about small towns and being proven wrong. And I am sure that we get the side eye more times than I have noticed because our faces are new and unknown and nobody really knows our intentions. It's totally fair. 

There have been moments of kindness that stick out in my head and I know that Matt has a whole other list of his experiences - which we will talk more about in future posts. It feels awkward to call out individuals by name but I wanted to share that as a new person in a new town the smallest gestures feel infinite. Reach out to a stranger and invite them to dinner, or to a chamber meeting. Introduce them to the local historian or help them find the Benton Gazette. Brainstorm business and education ideas and suggest restaurants. Teach them the history and share your memories. Wave at them when you see them out and about. These things do not go unnoticed.

Which brings me to the first business I want to call out and thank. As a footnote...the reason that I am calling out businesses specifically is because we are all looking for help we can trust every single day - you see it all day on Talk Benton - and these are my 5 star reviews!

Andrew Casillas and Andrew's Roofing - Andrew and his team have helped us so many times from repairing the roof of our main home to replacing the roof on the carriage house and has even stopped by to help with leaks. He is a man of his word and his work is thorough. I was lucky to find out about Andrew through Tina at  CASA of Franklin and Hamilton Counties. CASA is near and dear to my heart as I used to be an advocate in Colorado and believe in the work that they do to my core. If you do not know what CASA does please check them out and, if you have the time, consider volunteering. 

Check out this hive!! Removed from home during roof repair



Coming up next....Clearing the property

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