Jaime Waydo

When I was a junior in college, I was waiting tables at the Bozeman Montana Perkins Family Restaurant and Bakery (similar to Denny’s). My favorite shift was the 4pm to 8pm dinner shift. I could get in, capture the dinner rush, and finish up with plenty of time to study or do some engineering homework.

Several times a week around 4pm, a nice retired couple would come in, sit in my section, and order pie. Carol was her name. I forget her husband’s. I would always joke with them about having desert before dinner — and a connection was made.

One evening while I was serving up their pie heated and a la mode, Carol asked me what my dream was. I shared with her that I dreamed of working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and I wanted to build robots to go to Mars. She didn’t give me the normal response which was usually some version of, “wow! dreaming big aren’t you?” . She smiled wisely, as most women in their 60s do. She shared that her brother-in-law had just retired from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he was moving to Bozeman. She said she’d make sure to bring him in and introduce us. I thought it was a nice coincidence, but didn’t think much more of it.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I’m working a Sunday lunch shift. This shift is a good money maker, but it is absolute chaos. Imagine all the churches in town get out at about the same time, and a fair number of their patrons all want lunch at Perkins. They are hungry, it is crowded, and there are lots of kids making sure we all know how they feel about the situation. That afternoon, I was in the back re-filling the ranch dressing when someone came back and said, “there is a woman named Carol in table 41 who wants to see you.” Right then, the ranch slid out of my hands and fell on to the floor and this huge gloopy ranch volcano erupted and much of it landed on me. In my hair, on my shirt, and covering my apron. I had 7 tables all needing something, I was covered in ranch which smelled as bad as it looked, and now Carol wanted to chat. “Um ok. Tell her I’ll be there in a little bit.” I tried to make myself presentable, got my section under control and went over to say hi. And there, my connection with Carol changed my life. She introduced me to her brother Art who had been at JPL for 30 years. Art was a lovely man who helped me get an interview for an internship at JPL which later turned into a 12 year chapter of my career. All from one woman who came in and order pie.

I was thinking about that connection today as I was driving home. I started thinking about all the connections in my life that are opening opportunities for me right now. From the architect and designer helping me with the remodel on our house, to a few former colleagues asking me to do advisory & consulting work for them, to people offering advice on how to get started writing. It is incredible what these little connections do to open the doors the universe is using to help me along my divine path.

I am humbled by the serendipity there is to life and how all these connections we make are really the main ingredient. Can’t wait to see who I meet tomorrow!

xo,

J