Diane Hochhalter 9/25/19 Diane Hochhalter 9/25/19

It's All a Matter of Perspective

Yesterday my youngest was home with the coughy crud that seems to be hitting hard and early this year. As we sat across from each other watching our 743rd episode of Lego Ninjago (are they humans or snakes? I still don’t know…) we ate our lunch.

As he ate his soup, with the box of crackers between us, he said

“These little crackers would be good with tomato soup, because that’s what the box shows.”

“No honey, that’s chili I said.”

“No. It is really red. It’s tomato soup”

He was annoyed, that I thought he didn’t know what tomato soup was.

“Hon, chili is red too. It is lumpy and has beans but it is red.”

Now I’m thinking I need to make chili more often so this kid can identify what chili looks like!

“No, it is soup” he said with a finality I knew the discussion was over.

I grabbed the box of crunchy carby saltiness that is my absolute kryptonite.

I turned the box to reach in and saw …

We were both 100% right, but how would we have known what each others perspective was.

I believed I knew what he was seeing and was wrong. He knew what he was seeing and knew I was wrong.

And in fact, we were both correct.

How often do we truly think we know the perspective someone is coming from? But the reality, is we don’t. We know our own truth, our own path, our own reality. Even someone less than 5 feet away may be experiencing the world around them differently.

Choose grace,

choose kindness,

choose being happy instead of being right.

We can never really know through what perspective someone may be living.

Diane Hochhalter 4/11/16 Diane Hochhalter 4/11/16

Love Wins

Last week I was asked to be a little sneaky and covert. Since the alternative to the offer would consist of losing battle to 52 loads of laundry I totally agreed to a little scheming and deception for a good cause.

I have known Bryan since my freshman year of high school. Alphabetically, he sat behind me in several classes. And if I dig deep in the recesses of my brain, I may have had a crush on him for 36 seconds in high school. Imagine my shock when a few years ago I wandered into the post office of my Mayberry town and saw him behind the counter!

"BRYAN?"

It took him a second to recognize me (probably because of the hair) but then he realized who I was. I hadn't been in town long and it was nice to see an old familiar face.

I met Penny my freshman year when I became a Hockey Cheerleader. She was a year older and so very friendly and sweet to a terrified, insecure freshman. Her family owned the Dairy Queen in the mall of my hometown and in the hierarchy of high school, she didn't have to even acknowledge me as I wandered the food court, but she always did. She was genuinely kind.

As life sometimes happens, chapters closed for them both, and then new chapters began. They are resolute in their belief that God brought them through their individual struggles and then eventually together. And the time had arrived for Bryan to propose.

Here is where I come in.

There was a place in Fargo that was special to them, and some assistance was needed to facilitate the question-popping. And, there were photos that needed to be taken. With the wind whipping and a few raindrops spitting, I bundled into my long coat, beanie and hood and blended into the indigent population that unfortunately can be seen in downtown Fargo. As they arrived at their place, I exited a building and started snapping photos. The affection and emotion they felt for each other was clearly visible and it made my heart smile.

He asked.

She said yes.

And love wins again.

Congratulations you two, and I am SO incredibly blessed to be asked to help this happen! I wish you all the love and happiness in your future together!