Day 345

4/26/23

Serendipity is a beautiful thing! I was having my rings cleaned this afternoon when a noticed a young man looking at jewelry for his wife. When the associate asked him to spell his name, I was shocked to hear: "F A R R I E R"! That is my maiden name, so my attention was now fully on this customer.

Looking for any semblance of familial traits, I tried not to stare. I did find something familiar about him and decided to introduce myself when there was a break in his transaction.

When the clerk moved away, I asked him if his last name was Farrier. He acknowledged that it was and I asked about his older relatives. It turned out that his father was my second cousin! We walked down the family tree lane and then he called his dad!

We had a lovely conversation and decided to get together soon! What I wonderful, serendipitous moment! I look forward to melting the years away and getting to know this branch of the family tree!

Lilly and I had another moment of happenstance at the Walker Senior Residence this morning. Having visited a number of residents, I decided to end our time there by visiting Lilly's favorite guy. We went up to his room, knocked on the door and found nobody home. Slightly concerned, we rode the elevator back down to DEAR Doreen, concierge extraordinaire, and asked if Don had gone to an appointment. She smiled and told us he was just where we were standing a moment earlier and had headed back up to his room. We must have been going down on one elevator as he ascended on the other! Back up we went for a special time with our amazing harmonica player.

There have certainly been other moments in my life that would certainly be serendipitous. My favorite would have to be meeting my dear, dog-loving husband. Down in Ames, Iowa, at a Destination Imagination (Odyssey of the Mind) World Tournament, our team from Lincoln Elementary was looking to trade pins. Pin trading is huge at these competitions and, this year, the TEXAS pin was the prize. Seeing an unsuspecting Texan, the team ran up to see if the gentleman would trade for a Minnesota pin. He had two pins, but daughter Amanda was third in line. He told her, if he could have her address, he would send her a pin from the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas. Addresses were exchanged, the pin was sent and they became pen pals. Years later, that same man became "Mr. Laurie!" What a gift!

So, whether you are fortunate enough to reconnect with long-lost family members, spend some unexpected time with a soon-to-be centurion, meet a future husband or other beautiful, unplanned moments in time, savor that experience. It's just possible that a few seconds either side of that encounter...and it would never have happened!