Making someone’s acquaintance can be a run-of-the-mill occurrence, a brief encounter lasting a few minutes, their name soon forgotten. But in a moment orchestrated by fate, you could also meet someone who will change your life in ways that you can’t yet imagine.
I remember when I met Adam in 1997 - in a craft session at a summer camp, tidying up after kids had painted clay pots. I now know that the painting method employed was fated to end in bubbled paint and disappointment, but my rewards from that day have been lasting. The two of us stayed there talking far longer than we should have after everyone else had left, and we just haven’t stopped. A few days later, when he was literally driving out of the parking lot, I flagged him down and passed him a torn scrap of paper with my shiny new email address, and that was that. That trip was one of my first of hundreds of ferry crossings between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick - someone’s miscalculation resulted in a few others girls and I peeling into the ferry terminal and running onto the ferry, bags flying every which way on our way home. We made the ferry, but I had left my heart and that email address in New Brunswick. 27 years later, I am so glad that I saw the potential and flagged him down.
I decided last year that because gardening is one of my favourite things, and talking about gardening is another, I should become an active member of the local garden club. It’s a joy and delight, and I just appreciate it so much - camaraderie and commiseration about pests and diseases, shared insights and practical tips, guest speakers on fascinating topics - and snacks! This June, at the plant swap meeting, I started chatting with a woman about my age (there are some, but not too many my age amongst the 120ish members) and we haven’t stopped since. I see no point in playing it cool when you meet someone whose company you enjoy, and neither does she - within five minutes we had each other’s info. She and her husband came over for a visit and garden tour that week, and we’ve been going back and forth ever since. We had the best time this summer, hanging out, chatting in our gardens, going to garden tours, with an endless parade of bouquets from her garden and food from mine going between our houses. Old friends are so special - especially the ones you can just pick right back up with - and new friends are special in a different way.
It’s so easy to fall into believing, sometimes unconsciously so, that things are just the way they are and forgetting that amazing and semi-magical things can happen at any moment. A bit of effort and openness to the world are required, I think, but there is definitely so much out there to look forward to.
So here’s to the magic of the universe conspiring to bring people together in a million ways, to new and old friendships alike.