You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

One morning I woke up to a wonderful text message from a friend asking if I had time for coffee and a chat. Of course I did.

On the drive to our favorite coffee spot, I realized I needed gas. So after dropping her back at home, I picked up my little dog Sam and headed to Costco to fill the tank.

Then I remembered that Sam needed his nails clipped. The groomer was near Costco, so I congratulated myself on the efficiency. Gas and dog nails in one trip. Look at me getting things done.

Sam was considerably less impressed with the plan.

After surviving the trauma of the nail clipping—and yes, Sam considered it trauma—I decided he deserved a reward. A walk in the park seemed about right.

There was only one problem. I didn’t know where the nearest park was.

So I asked my trusty Garmin, which offered several possibilities. I chose the closest one and off we went.

And that is how Sam and I accidentally discovered Markham Nature Park & Arboretum.

Wow!

How did I not know this place existed?

It was only about 10 minutes from my house, tucked into a neighborhood I had driven past countless times. Yet somehow, after more than 20 years of living in the area, I had never heard of it.

Markham is sixteen acres of trees, gardens and walking paths in the middle of Concord. Hundreds of trees grow there, native and exotic.

It was beautiful. Quiet. Peaceful.

It was the kind of place where you could walk your dog, have a picnic with a friend, learn something about a tree you’d never seen before or simply enjoy the gift of being in nature.

As Sam and I walked, I kept wondering the same thing.

How did I not know about this place?

How could something so lovely have been sitting practically in my backyard all this time without ever appearing on my radar?

And that’s when the phrase came to me:

You don’t know what you don’t know.

At first, that thought felt a little unsettling.

What else don’t I know?

That line of thinking could drive a person—and possibly her husband—a little crazy.

Because there is just so much to know.

But as I kept walking, I began to see it differently.

Of course there are things I don’t know. There are places I haven’t been, people I haven’t met, books I haven’t read, questions I haven’t asked and little corners of the world I haven’t discovered yet.

Maybe that’s not a problem to solve.

Maybe that’s part of the adventure.

If I already knew everything, there would be nothing left to discover—although the bragging rights with Scott would be pretty spectacular. No unexpected turn. No new place hiding ten minutes from home. No ordinary Tuesday that suddenly gave me something I’d never seen before.

I thought I was taking Sam to get his nails clipped.

Instead, he and I found a lovely little gem that had been there all along, waiting for us to stumble across it.

And I’m glad I didn’t know about it before. Because sometimes, finding something you never knew was there is half the fun.

Turns out, I’m pretty glad I don’t know everything.

This story first appeared on an earlier version of my blog but has been lightly edited for Grace & Glimmers.