ODDmopolitan-The Strangest Story you have Ever Heard!

The Strangest Story You Ever Heard

My baby sister, Stephanie Vollentine, turned 50 this weekend and it prompted a fun gathering and a rarity, all five of the Lenart Clan together. I love spending time with my siblings and it doesn't happen often. My brother Tim Lenart, flew in from Florida, and along with my other brother, Joe Lenart, (named after my Dad) and my sister, Linda Rozanski, we all gathered Friday evening to raise a glass to our Dad,(who we all miss dearly) and wish Stephie a Happy Birthday! There was much hugging, laughing and yes, even a bit of crying as we shared stories that only family can relate to. I wish the photo was clearer so you could see the fun crew but we were in a dark tavern. :) About midnight, I cooked breakfast at our home for the group and then everyone left for the night and Tom and I went to sleep...after locking all the doors.

About 6:30 AM, Tom and I got up for coffee and he mentioned someone was sleeping in the family room. Thinking my nephew had decided to spend the night at our house, he headed to make coffee, while I continued to the family room. He was right, someone was sleeping in the room, the only problem was it was someone I had never seen before. A Stranger was sleeping in my family room. Needless to say, I was a bit taken by surprise. First of all, I am a light sleeper, or so I thought. And I had never heard anyone come in during the night. Second of all, I had locked the door but evidently because of the extreme cold recently, the door hadn't latched tightly. So here we are, a sleeping stranger in our house, and Tom trying to wake him. I couldn't help but think how lucky this person was that Tom and I are fairly calm people, someone else could have shot him as an intruder. The bottom line, it took over an hour to get him to wake and be coherent. He was a young man who had been socializing way too long and thought he was sitting in the lobby of a hotel waiting for his room. We asked his name, fed him coffee, and sent him on his way. He meant us no harm but how frightening to think he had wandered into a stranger's home not even knowing where he was. He finally had a moment of realization right before we escorted him out of our home and apologized. It also terrified me to think of what harm he could have done to someone else in his condition. The story spread threw our little town like wild fire, and the guy called that afternoon to apologize. Even though we didn't know him, he knew who we were and knew an apology was in order.

So why do I share this with you? Well, you have to admit, it is a strange story, but it also made me think how many things do we "sleep" through? Do you "sleep" through the messages your significant other is sending you or maybe the stories your kids are trying to share with you? Does your apathetic approach to life and business cause you to sleepwalk through life? Wake Up, there may be a stranger in your house or your business that may not be as harmless as my stranger was. The Stranger, Apathy, could harm your business and relationships, so wake up and be aware of what is happening around you! Protect yourself and your business by waking up and living in the moment.

JoAnne Lenart-Weary