07/09/2026
Main Street work is about building community capacity- a phrase used in economic development all the time. But community capacity isn’t just measured in storefront occupancy, investment dollars, or festival attendance.
It’s measured in whether someone notices when another person isn’t okay.
For weeks, I’ve been carrying unbearable trauma, a crippling grief that most people around me know nothing about. I’ve continued showing up because life doesn’t stop. Meetings still happen. Events still need planning. Reports must still be submitted. The work of the program continues.
Today was one of those days where I had tucked it all away neatly, powered through our state coordinator’s visit and then several hours of development and training with the board.
Minutes after saying our goodbyes, the world got quiet enough for my heart full of emotion to return, heavier than usual.
Kim, Kimberly spotted me down the sidewalk, she approached, looked at me and gently asked, “Are you okay?”
I answered honestly, shared what season I have been walking through. Kim didn’t try to fix a thing. She simply listened.
A short while later, there was a knock at my door.
Kim stepped away from her own afternoon of wearing all the small business hats to create this touching arrangement. She hand-wrote the sweetest card, and wrapped me in one of those hugs that says everything words simply cannot.
The dam broke and everything came spilling from my eyes.
Not because flowers erase grief.
But because compassion has a way of reminding us that we don’t have to carry it completely alone.
We hardly know what another person is walking through. The smile, the meeting, the conversation, the social media post…they often tell only a fraction of the story.
Community capacity building isn’t just about supporting local businesses.
It’s about showing up for the people inside them, in every season.
Thank you, Kim, for your extraordinary kindness. You reminded me today that love often arrives quietly - in a soft knock on the door, a handwritten note, a bouquet made with care, and for taking the time to see me, not just the program I work for.
