Role Models: Meredith

I have 4 role models. Not in any particular order, because they all play a significant role in my life. They all have different attributes that I aspire to be more like. I am not sure how these people came to be this way; maybe they were born with some of these traits, or maybe through time and experiences. The first one is someone I met who was my manager at a retail store. Sounds pretty generic. And that’s exactly what it was, nothing flashy. I was the assistant store manager at the time so I was under her supervision. My job was to follow her lead, do as she did, and step in when she was unable. But that basic principle carried into my life though that wasn’t the original intention. I had just graduated college and was about to get married. What a busy time in my life. It was my first real job with things like PTO and stuff. And day by day, as things came up in conversation, she advised me. Sometimes important things like insurance and other times it was basic things like buying good furniture. She said 5 things you never go cheap on is furniture, underwear, cars, tattoos, and jewelry. I think you could go cheap on jewelry but underwear? Better not. I even admired her handwriting so much that she hand wrote all of my table place settings for my wedding. Just imagine writing "Luttenegger" on a tiny piece of paper 50 times. She has a lot of experiences under her belt. Many of them were not happy moments but did leave her with one thing; knowledge. She is very wise. She is very honest too; telling you what you need to hear, not always what you want to hear. She was always looking out for me. I remember one time I told her I went to the Salvation Army in the uptown. It seemed kind of sketchy but whatever. She then told me it was a very unsafe place and to never go back. And she was right, so I stayed far away. Most of the time she was advising me on common sense things. She once said, “If common sense were common, more people would have it.” Man, if that ain’t the truth. Now, as I’ve grown a few more years of life experiences, I find myself saying that all the time. In 2019, I received the most powerful Christmas card. That year I was caught between longing for a child and trying to find happiness without one. She sent me a Christmas card in the mail and I took a picture of it and saved it to my phone because it meant so much. So Meredith, if you are reading this, Thank you. Thank you for being there when you didn’t have to be. Thank you for guiding me through a pivotal time in my life. And most of all, thanks for just being a freaking fantastic person.

And for now,

Xoxo