This is silly, but it’s still on my mind this morning, so, what the heck? I’ll let you in on it.

I don’t know about you, but for me, most of my day is spent in my head (hence my pursuit of being present). Rushing here and there, all the while thinking about where I need to be next, who I need to see next, what I need to do next, I can say I hardly ever am where I physically am.

“Crap, I’m going to be late for class,” I think as I speed along to my first Conversational Italian for Beginners class (offered so generously by “Mamma Licia” through the Salem, MA, Parks and Recreation Department). 

“Crap. I have to stop and get something to drink. I’m gonna pass out,” I also think, then swerve into the Rite Aid along the way.

While I wish to get something caffeinated – a Diet Dr. Pepper, to be exact – I’ve been on a good streak of eliminating fake sweeteners (aka, chemicals) and caffeine from my diet, and I really don’t want to screw that up now. So, faced with the wall of cold beverages offered by Rite Aid Pharmacy, I select two bottles of flavored seltzer water (and then throw a Diet Dr. Pepper into the mix in case I just can’t stay awake … I know … but it’s for backup …).

Back in the car, I crack open my lemon seltzer, and then enjoy a lovely lemon-scented shower of seltzer. Once I mop up the mess and the fizz settles, I sip and enjoy my bubbly refreshment. 

Arriving just on time, I run into my class, awkwardly repeat back “Buona sera” to my teacher as I come dashing in, and settle in for my first real Italian lesson. Perfetto!

Week two comes along, and once again I’m running a little too close to perfectly on time (rather than at least a minute early), and again I dash in, set my sparkling water on the table, and proceed with learning the right way to say, “Penna,” which means pen, and which means something very different if you don’t pronounce both n’s. It’s a body part. I’ll leave it at that.

Week three was last night. And here’s what I noticed: Of the five of us in class, including the teacher, now three of us had sparkling waters on the table. Wha?!

First, I’d noticed the single-serving bottle of San Pellegrino in my peripheral vision, and thought, “Mmm. That’s my favorite. What a cute little bottle that is.”

But then, I noticed my teacher – a native Italian who hails from Milan, arguably the trendiest city in Italy, I should add – also reach for a beverage: A Stop & Shop bottle of lemon-flavored seltzer! What the?! Had I done this? Had I sparked a sparkling water revolution within the tiny walls of this Park and Recreation-sponsored Italian for Beginners class? Why, I think I had! 

This thrills me, and I’ll tell you why. On the night of my first class, as I rushed into the room – the last to arrive – I remember getting settled and then looking around to check out just who else was spending their Thursday nights in the likely haunted Salem Senior Center, attempting to learn a little bit of this delicious language we call Italian, or, Italiano. I spotted three other women, all likely at least 10 years my senior, giddily gathered around the small table we shared, ready to be taken away to a land where life is savored and language sounds as delectable as the regional cuisine. I also noticed two of the ladies had big foam cups of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee on the table next to their books, and I remember thinking, “Huh. So I wasn’t the only one who needed to come armed with liquid support. I’m glad I didn’t opt for the caffeine now, though.” (7:30 p.m. is way too late for me to be having anything stimulating, anyway.)

Remembering this observation I’d made that first evening, last night I found myself thinking, “I wonder if these women were noticing the same thing about me on that first night, that I’d needed to bring some kind of beverage delight as well. I wonder if they thought better of their late-night caffeine choice as a result, and instead were inspired by my choice to bring their own chemical- and caffeine-free drink, too!”

See? This is a bit silly, right? But, maybe it’s true. Maybe, in the hustle and bustle and distraction of our own lives, we’re actually making impressions on others and affecting their choices on some of the most random – but in this case, health-altering, I think – things. Isn’t that incredible? We matter. Our actions and choices matter. When you stop to really consider that notion, you realize, we are amazing.

Photos by M. Renee Buckley