Snow And Synchronicity

Last night the news meteorologist predicted we would get snow starting at 6 am. There was nothing on the ground when my alarm went off a half hour after that time, but during breakfast a couple of flakes came down, enough to give the grass a tiny dusting of white. Then it stopped. Two hours later, just about the time I thought the forecast was wrong once again, it started snowing for real. Big flakes covered the street and sidewalk. It came down for several hours. By the time it stopped there was about an inch on the ground.

One of my To Dos for today was to get supplies at the store for tomorrow's work. I had no desire to go out while the streets were snow covered, so I amused myself all morning by working on dinner and playing on the computer. After lunch I took the recycling to the communal bin and ran into my neighbor coming in from the garage. She said she had no trouble driving, so I decided I could go out too.

At the store I knew exactly what I needed. I grabbed my supplies and headed toward the checkout. The conventional lines were very long so I moved over to the self-serve area. There, the female attendant directed me to a machine and I started scanning my items. One of them was supposed to be on clearance but rang up at a higher price. Attendant was helping someone else so I completed the purchase and figured I would have to go to the Customer Service area to complain. 

Just about that time Attendant came back to her station and I started to ask her about the price discrepancy. However, I took a look at her name tag, and a good look at her face, and realized I knew her. We had both worked at the mall Customer Service desk from 2011 until I left in 2014. Back then Attendant had a day job and worked at the desk on nights and weekends. Our schedules didn't overlap a lot, but enough that I got to know her pretty well. She was about my age, and the only one of the desk staff who also had grown children. 

After we spent a couple of minutes catching up, Attendant asked me if I had heard about our boss passing away last spring. I had not. We talked a little bit about how shocking the news was. Boss would have been in his mid-40s, but had some preexisting health conditions. I would have liked to chat longer, but there was another customer that needed assistance, so I said goodbye.

As I walked away I realized that my being at that part of that store at that time was no accident. I was meant to be there so I could run into someone I knew and hear about someone else I knew.

Five years ago: A Chair Massage Like No Other