On our last day in St. Augustine, Florida, my sister, niece and I stumbled on a textile shop that felt like it came directly out of the 17oos. The shop featured historically accurate clothing, leather shoes, bags, wooden games, and mock guns. It was a delight to all senses.

My sister asked the proprietor a simple question: “How’d you get started with this shop?” And that’s when the passion energy started to flow.

The proprietor, Annathea, is a recently retired lawyer who has been a re-enactor since she was a teen. Her father was from England and in re-enactments, she was quickly adopted by the Red Coats. What, one wonders, does a woman do as a Red Coat re-enactor? She said that each re-enactor decides what role they want to play. When she was younger, she was a camp follower. Now she’s in her 50s and has decided she’s a mother whose son enlisted, and she is following the camp as a glove maker. AND that glove makers in the 17oos were also condom makers. Now the glove-maker role made more sense.

Until we talked with Annathea, I did not know that condoms were used in the 1700s and I certainly did not know how they were made or who made them. Or that men tied them on. She mused that that may even be the origin of that phrase…

We went into Annathea’s shop with no expectations and came out feeling as enthusiastic as she was about a hobby that had turned into a business. My niece commented afterward about how fun it was to listen to someone who has a genuine passion for what they do and how infectious that energy is.

When you do what you love and love what you do, the joy you feel and the joy you exude is infectious. What’s cool about Annathea’s story is it’s a reminder that a life-long passion can exist quite nicely outside of the confines of work.

Here are a few questions and thoughts about energy and passion.

• Do you have something in your life that’s so fun you would gladly talk to perfect strangers about it?
• If you have an idea for something you’d love to do but aren’t doing it, can you find others who are doing it? If I had been thinking of becoming a re-enactor, just hearing Annathea would have been all it took to get me out of the shop and directly into battle gear.
• If you’re looking for a jolt of energy, ask someone you know, or a perfect stranger, about what they do for fun. Then listen to their tale with an open heart.
• It’s fun doing work you’re passionate about.
• It’s fun sharing your passion with willing listeners and especially with others who share the same passion.
• Having a passion for some aspect of your life helps bring energy to all aspects of your life – even the parts you’re less-than-enthusiastic about.
• Having a passion for what you’re doing helps set priorities. When you want to get to your passion work, you plan your time as carefully as a glove maker planned her wares in the 1700s.

Battle on! And happy summer.

Final sunrise and sunset at St. Aug. Nice week with the Clan!

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