A Sampling of Life

On Thursday, I made an express trip to Kansas City to eat BBQ for dinner. It was a three hour drive to with a three hour dinner, followed by a three hour drive home. It was one of those things that connected educators do. It was an opportunity to meet some of my professional learning network face-to-face, connect in a new way, and build a common experience. It was one of those things that seemed like the right thing to do even though nothing about it made sense. I'm so glad that my wife finally gets the ecosystem of connected learning. She gets things like ISTE, the Bammys, and random trips across the state for dinner and discussion. It was a tremendous evening, and it left me fired up about the next chance that I get to do it again.

During dinner, a silly thing happened. The waitress was describing the menu, and she talked about the soup of the day. It was a chicken gumbo. It sounded lovely, so out of my mouth flies, "Can I try a sample of that?" Next thing that you know it was the joke of the table with all ten guys asking about getting a sample of something. It led to a lot of laughs throughout the evening, and even today, I'm smiling about my sample of soup.

Sampling things is the truth about my life in so many ways. I've been sampling things for a long time. Over the holidays, I always sample all of the desserts, and I've sampled a ton of different music over time. I look for those samples in the grocery store, and I am partial to the sampler platter on the appetizer menu. In addition, I can't tell you the number of times that I've been to a craft beer location and had the sampler.

I've always called myself an experience person, longing for experiences in life to bolster my happiness, wisdom, and more. This way of life sits in contrast to those that use stuff to bring that same happiness and wisdom. For me, sampling is a way of life. It is a way to try new things, experience a twist to normal, and break the inertia and momentum of daily life. Are you a sampler? What new aspects of life are you trying? What in your life would be just a little bit better with a sample?

Thanks to all ten of my mates at the #tasteofkc #edcampbbq event. It was a great evening that I hope that we can replicate again soon. I'll bring the sampler.