Our family actually calls it, “The Bowers Curse.”
We simply can’t go too many places without running into someone we know or someone who has a connection back to one of our family members.
Years ago my husband David and his Dad attended a basketball game at Purdue University’s Mackey Arena that seats nearly 15,ooo fans. As they were shuffling by people in an attempt to find their seats, David noticed how a man who was seated just a couple of seats down kept looking at them. Within moments, a conversation began and the older men figured out that he and David’s dad attended the same high school while growing up. What you need to know is David’s Dad attended a small rural high school with a graduating class of under 20 students. What are the chances of that reunion?
Several years ago, our family travelled to Galveston, Texas in preparation to board a cruise ship for Spring Break. David pulled up to the curb at the cruise ship terminal to drop me and the kids and our mountain of luggage off before driving to the nearby parking lot to leave the rental car. As he was making his way back to the terminal, he struck up a conversation with a guy. Turns out this man actually grew up with David’s Mom in Indiana. He lived just down the road and spent many evenings with the family, playing basketball in the driveway and sharing meals together. Crazy!
When our daughter, Samantha, was in her senior year of high school, we took a family trip down to a Sandal’s Resort in the Turks & Caicos. One evening, several of us gathered in a little coffee shop for a light snack. Our daughter and her friend were acting like complete lunatics and when we mentioned they might want to reign it in a little, Samantha replied, “Nobody here know us, so who cares!” The very next day, while we were in line at the airport to board our plane, we noticed a family behind us that had sweatshirts on from a popular Indiana college. We struck up a conversation while we were waiting and found out they had been staying at the same resort. They mentioned seeing us in the coffee shop the night before. Samantha and her friend cringed. Oh, and did I mention they were from the same county and they actually knew Samantha’s boyfriend at the time? The world gets smaller all the time!
This past February, David and I were able to go on a marriage cruise hosted by Family Life. We flew to Miami the day before we were to set sail. As we checked into the hotel, I received a text message from my mom. She informed me that one of my cousins from Minnesota, Kim and her hubby, were actually staying in the same hotel complex and were going to go on the same exact cruise. We hadn’t seen each other for over 20 years. I asked my mom to send me a photo of Kim because it had been so long. The very next day, as we were lounging by the pool getting ready to set sail for the warm blue waters of the Caribbean, Kim and I were able to reconnect. Coincidence? I don’t think so!
Isn’t it just amazing to think that our days are orchestrated in a way that we can be connected to family and friends no matter how much time or how many miles may separate us? We’re frequently reminded that the world is a very small place where we shouldn’t behave like lunatics in any coffee shops because you never know who you’ll meet up with.
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