Fifty Cups of Coffee #31: Heather Laird
Date: November 16, 2024
Location: Zoom
How we know each other
Heather was one of the first people I met at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She lived on the same floor in our dorm at 100 Beacon Street, and turns out she also hailed from Oregon (she was from Coos Bay). We are Sigma Pi Theta Sorority sisters, and she’s still one of my dearest friends to this day.
What Heather is doing now
Heather lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband. They have two daughters.
Three questions
During these Fifty Cups of Coffee chats, I ask each person the same three questions. The reasoning behind each is as follows:
Question 1 – Social media makes it easy for other people to think that they know us, when truthfully, we all only see a small sliver of someone’s life and who they really are. This is the interviewee’s chance to share something that is important to them that, for whatever reason, other people may not know.
Question 2 – We all have fears, no matter who are are or where we are in life. This helps connect us and show we are all more alike than we are different.
Question 3 – I believe the answer to this question helps show each person’s true values, passions, and their why in life.
There are no right or wrong answers to any of these. I’m including each person’s answers in first person. Their answers have been edited from my notes for length and clarity, but these are their words.
What is one thing you wish more people knew about you?
“I think that I say really silly things, do word fumbles, say awkward things sometimes. And I worry that I hurt people’s feelings. I ruminate about ways I could have said things differently. I worry about if people were offended when I didn’t mean it in that way.”
What is your deepest fear?
“I think my biggest fear is that the people I love and care for don’t know how much I love them, and I haven’t done a good job showing how much I love them. Which is why I awkwardly tell people I love and care for them.”
“I’m really afraid these people who are extraordinary don’t know they are extraordinary. We live these lives and we don’t know how much connection we really have.”
If you had unlimited funds, what would you do with your life?
“I would have people helping me make dinner. I’d have an Alice from the Brady Bunch. I’ve pretty much always wanted someone to do domestic labor in my life like laundry… an Alice! I’d be taking college classes all the time – random sociology and geopolitical classes. And I would be traveling. I would be like Bob Pamplin with his 43 degrees and private jet. I would have the spring break vacation I never had. I would also do generous things like pay off everybody’s mortgages and things like that.”
Thanks for taking the time to chat with me, Heather!
What I’ve Learned
Here are some of the things I’ve learned and some takeaways from our coffee chat.
- Tell people you love them. Heather considers this an awkward trait of hers, but I find it admirable and something the rest of us should aspire to. I tell my kids I love them every day, at least once a day, when we’re in the same house together. But I need to do a better job of telling my friends how much they mean to me, and this is a good reminder!
- Always keep learning. I love how Heather would keep growing and learning by taking classes.
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