Hyphenated-Homestead

Caught myself doing that thing again. I reorganized the dishwasher after my spouse loaded it. Didn’t say anything. We both know.

I keep meeting Neighborhood Me in weird places. At the grocery store, I’m the guy organizing items by category 😊so bagging makes sense. In parking lots, I wave first and merge later. At the community event (or when we have a small gathering at home), I am the last one to get the food, by choice!

These aren’t different versions of me. They’re just… subtitles. “Mandar at Aisle 7.” “Mandar at Community Event.” The setting changes which part of me shows up first.

I used to lead with the meeting guy—the one with the agenda, keeping things moving, getting things done. That’s still there. But these days the porch guy gets equal airtime—asking questions, noticing stuff, being more present right here right now. I think both were always there. I just let the quieter one talk more now.

Every time I spot Familiar Me out there, I feel grateful. It means I’m still paying attention. It means these blocks and stores and people are part of the story now.

Same guy. Different corners. The map’s getting bigger, but I’m still me.

Your Turn
Where did you run into yourself this week?

(Three to go)

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