Just a little story that illustrates the every-day way my life unfolds.
While all the angst and chaos of pre-election insanity swirls around, I’m busy working on my little 2br house renovation. Yesterday I was hanging a little drywall in the corner of the kitchen-to-be, and I ran out of drywall screws.
Larry the plumber was there. I asked him if he needed anything from Home Depot.
“Why are you going there?” he says. “Why not go to Key?”
Well, I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. But Key Supply is a local place, I guess not any further away, so yeah, sure, I’ll go there.
So I head out. On the way I go by the house and notice one dog is outside. I stop and check in to make sure everything is ok there. Keep going. Remember I should check the mailbox at Fourth Street. Talk to Sharra, she writes me a check. Ok, good.
This is really taking a long time, just to get a box of drywall screws. I am noticing that “The Universe” or “God”, whatever term you like to use, seems to be steering me in a certain direction. I definitely have this sense of it, and I am also being slowed down. I am behind a car going very slow. I also notice that I am low on gas, and I should stop at Sal’s and fill up. But really, I should get back and finish that drywall! So I skip the gas for now.
I get to Key, and grab a box of screws off the shelf. Terry is there, and Terry is a talker. He’s also a really nice guy. So we chat. For a while. About all kinds of stuff. In the back of my mind, I am still wondering what my purpose is for being here at Key, it really did feel like there was a reason. And you never know, maybe just the chat was “meant to be” or maybe someone needed a smile that day and I am not even aware of whatever small interaction was supposed to happen. Whatever. I’m just going with it.
BUT THEN, in walks Petey. I instantly recognize this person, but it takes me a minute to be sure of who it is, because it is unexpected. He looks right at me and says, “Megan” or “Meggy” or some version of my name. I give him a big hug. (His real name is Jesús, if I remember correctly, and he speaks with an accent. FYI “Meg” does not translate well into Spanish.)
You see, I am very fond of Petey. He’s a super sweet guy. He used to be part of Andy’s crew, one of the contractors I use. We spent a lot of time together in the summer of 2007, and then they worked on my kitchen in 2010. He no longer works for him, so I haven’t seen Petey since then.
So, “why” did God or The Universe set this up? Who knows. It sure made me happy to see him. I don’t necessarily think the reason has to be earth-shattering. But I do know that if I am “in tune” with the subtle pushes and pulls that are there, and I allow myself to follow along, that these things happen.
And who knows? Maybe he needed a hug. Maybe … a lot of reasons, and I will never know. To me it doesn’t matter — it’s just a lot more fun to live life this way. 🙂
meaningofstrife 