The Things We Forget to Notice

Missy spends her days serving corn dogs and lemonade, but what she really enjoys is who she gets to do it with.

At Hot Dog on a Stick, work is a family affair. Her mom is her boss. Her dad works alongside her. So do her sisters, nieces, and nephews. On any given day, a shift might feel just as much like a family gathering as it does a job.

When I asked what means the most to her about the work, she didn't hesitate.

"It's family owned."

There was something refreshing about how simple her answer was.

Behind the bright signs, food trucks, and busy events, Missy knows there's a side of the business most people never see. The long hours, the costs, the planning, and the work it takes to keep a small business running can be easy to overlook. Customers experience the fun part. The families behind those businesses carry everything else.

Her work has also taught her not to make assumptions about people. Traveling to events around the state and beyond has introduced her to all kinds of communities, and time after time she's found that people are often different than the stories we tell ourselves about them. Give someone a chance, and they'll usually surprise you.

When she talks about Salt Lake City, her answer is immediate: the mountains.

Like many people who have spent their lives here, she admits she doesn't think about them very often. It wasn't until a trip to Oklahoma, where the horizon stretches flat in every direction, that she realized how much she'd taken them for granted.

Talking with Missy made me think about how easy it is to stop seeing the things that are always there. Family. Community. Familiar places. The mountains outside our window.

Sometimes the things we appreciate most are the things we forget to notice until we're away from them.