People Connections

The children started swimming lessons on Monday and I have run into a few people I haven't seen in months or even years. It has been fun!!! It has gotten me thinking about the whole 6 degrees of seperation thing--I don't think it is a coincidence that we are as connected as we are. I don't fully believe that all people come into your life by accident. Some do and some serve no purpose whatsoever, but some . . . . .some can really change your life. For good, for bad. It's kind of amazing. I look back over my life and the people I have been blessed to know--it's pretty cool. So here's a shout out to all of you in my life who mean so much to me. I'm glad I know you. I'm glad our paths have crossed.
I talked to a woman today at swimming lessons--I don't know even know her name. I do know that her daughter is 3, almost 4--in Cortney's class. She (the daughter)has this pretty, curly red hair and she hates having water splashed on her face. Neither this woman nor her husband have red hair--it's in the genes somewhere though. I watched her as she fretted about her daughter screaming in the pool (who, by the way, was doing so much better by the end of the lesson.) It's hard to be a Mom so many times--and so rewarding so many more times. Our paths crossed briefly. A few minutes is all. I have always wanted to write a story about this theme of lives crossing and how our decisions can ultimately affect so many more people than just ourselves. That our lives are all interconnected. That we aren't brought to the same place as someone else by mere coincidence. That we can learn so much from others and their lives and experiences. Not sure about any details of this story. I just think it is an interesting theme that could possibly be fun to explore in a fictional setting.
That is one positive aspect of moving--if we ever sell our house--everywhere I go, I "pick up" more friends. My bestest friend, my longest friend, is Karyn. We have been friends since second grade in Plymouth Massachusetts. That is incredible to me. Especially now that I have children in elementary school. That's my entire life. I have dear, dear friends from High School in North Carolina. Nancy, Maria, Julia--Julia I just reconnected with because of the beauty of Facebook. Haven't talked to her in 13 years--and here we are. I have friends from college--that list is a bit longer. I love them all. There is Kim from the first ward Jon and I lived in after we were married. She's in Alaska now. I have a good group of women I adore from the second ward we lived in after that. Some absolutely amazing people who I love. And now, this ward we are in--another group of women I just adore. So it's kind of fun to wonder who I might get to meet in our next place of living wherever that may be. If it happens. My life becomes what it is because of me and also because of the people I connect with as the years go along. I wonder at times what our lives would have been like had we stayed where we were instead of buying this home. I am sure many things would have been different--financially things might have been better in some ways. But money isn't everything. And the people I know and love who I wouldn't know and love . . . .it's worth it. I am glad I am here.