The universe is always speaking to us... sending us little messages, causing coincidences and serendipities, reminding us to stop, to look around, to believe in something else, something more. ——Nancy Thayer
A Bike Ride
In the summer my friend, Felecia, and I often take early morning bike rides to beat the heat. We tend to ride The Hoodlebug Trail for our short rides; it takes less than an hour and forty-five minutes to ride the whole trail out and back. We vary where we start and the length of our ride based on schedules and errands.
Over the years we have come to “know” regular bikers and walkers who utilize the trail during the same hours we do. Of course, as it is in life, not all the regulars come back each season, but the trail fills with new “regulars” to greet with a wave and a hearty, “Good morning!” Vary rarely do any of us exchange names or stop to engage in conversation about our lives. Our connection is the trail and our time on it.
Every now and again we do find ourselves in proximity to some people while our feet are off the pedals and we are stationary. Most often it is at a rest stop along the trail. However, this week we found ourselves stopped on our return trip when we both noticed a woman with a leash in her hand calling for her dog that was a good distance from her.
A Loose Dog
We have never had a bad run in with a dog on the trail, so our slowing down to stop was not out of fear, but more so to help reunite the owner with her dog. It was clear the dog’s hesitation to follow her owner’s commands was because of our approach. As we stopped beside the woman, we offered our assistance in calling for the dog, who was in no hurry to run back nor run farther away. Once the three of us started talking, the dog, named Knickers, made her way back to us and the owner promptly snapped the leash back onto her collar. It was at this point I noticed the coffee mug in her hand.
A Mug
“That mug!” I practically yelled as she stood up from snapping on the leash.
“Yes, isn’t it just lovely? It’s my favorite one.”
“I used to have a set of dishes with that pattern years ago,” I started.
“How many years ago?” she interjected.
“I’m not sure…I loved them, but I got rid of them because the dishes started to get worn out. And we’d broken a few pieces over the years….”
“I bought this mug, along with all the others like it, at a thrift store years ago.”
After laughing at the probability of our meeting that morning and sharing a connection with a coffee mug, I introduced myself and asked for her name—I didn’t want to refer to her as “the coffee mug” lady if I saw her again. As we exchanged names, she remarked that this moment was serendipitous and it delighted her, as it did me.
There isn’t any questioning the fact that some people enter your life at the exact point of need, want, or desire—it’s sometimes a coincidence and most times fate, but whatever it is, I am certain it came to make me smile. —Nikki Rowe
I love these unexpected delights that pop into the moments of my life like the rare peanut in the Cracker Jack’s box. Forgot the prizes, I want the ordinary to become extraordinary. They are the moments I cannot script; the timing I could never get right; the people I never would expect to share a memory with. I cannot look for these moments; I have to be in the moment to experience them. They help to make the heaviness of life lighter and remind me that there are smiles waiting to be shared.
When I got home, I looked through my old foodie photos to try and figure out when I gave those dishes away and I was surprised to see it was sometime in 2015. Seven years ago?
The last photo reminded me of one of my favorite quick Naan Bread Pizzas: Pesto, hot Hungarian Pepper slices, and pepper jack cheese.
What’s been nourishing me this week….
Julia Child’s Crepe recipe. We’ve made about 3 batches in the past two weeks and have eaten them with various fillings.
Twinings Cold Infusers. I love these for sipping on the porch on summer evenings while I’m reading on the porch. My favorite flavor right now is the Watermelon & Mint. I pick mine up at Wal-Mart or other local grocery stores.
The book I’ve been reading this week is The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule, who was a close friend of Ted Bundy and happened to be an up and coming crime writer when she met me. Her writing mixes story and fact well.