By Chance or By Design

Last night, I met up with a few friends by chance and had a surprisingly good time. Earlier in the day I had nice lunch with my cousin Debbie. Just the day before I ran into a friend (and colleague) in the supermarket who was there with my chili recipe in her hand, there to buy the ingredients to make it for dinner that night. Each of these encounters--both chance and planned--came on a long weekend after a fairly stressful week. All of these encounters lifted me up a little and made me feel better.

As I drove home last night I thought about the wonderful assortment of people my life. Funny that I should choose a word normally used to describe a box of chocolates, but I think it's a perfect analogy. Really. There are no two alike, outside or in. And their appearance sometimes belies what waits inside. Haven't we all bitten into what we hope is a caramel only to find it's strawberry nougat? Or expected something soft and nearly broken a tooth? But loved it anyway? But I digress. I mostly thought about how these people in my life enrich my life.

My moment of gratitude was followed by one of hope...that in some small way I lift them up or enrich them too.