When I went to BloggerCon last month, I had a list of people I had planned to meet. I had looked forward to being with these friends I’d made through blogging, and I was glad we got to see each other face to face.
But then there were others whom I met because we happened to be in the same place at the same time. Coincidence. Serendipity. Fate. The best description that comes to mind is “Unexpected Surprise”. As if a surprise is expected. A bit redundant but still the phrase seems appropriate.
Lenn Pryor is someone who fell into my “unexpected surprise” category. After I came home from the conference, I told my husband about all the great people I met there, including Lenn. I wished Ted could have been there too.
In Seattle yesterday Lenn got to meet Ted and the girls when we had dinner dopwntown together. It was fun. I was glad to introduce him to the rest of my family. It’s great to meet people at conferences, but even better, I believe, to share with them your daily life, little kids and all :). Blogging is good but flesh and blood is better. We brought the girls along so that they could meet him too, and so that he could see all the seedlings and sprouts for himself. It was good to hang out with Lenn again and to get to know him better.
I realized that getting to know someone is simply a series of unexpected surprises… like unwrapping little packages…whether it’s time spent together sharing a conference session or reading each other’s writings (I like what Lenn posted today on Learning How to Live Again) or enjoying a meal and conversation around a table. As we unwrap the packages, finding what lies beneath the paper, we find what we have in common: experiences, stories, feelings, beliefs, values, heart. We find friendship.
Thanks, Lenn, and thanks to all my friends, “new” and “old” and for all the unexpected surprises we’ve shared, and all the ones still to come…:)
