Close Encounters of the Chance Kind

Me and my Big Brother in a Chance Encounter, seven years ago!

They say, when you go looking for a connection, you will never find it.  Specifically when you go looking for love, it will elude you.  You have to let it come to you.

Readers, I have tried to make friends through blogging so many times and failed miserably.  Maybe I come off too desperate and eager?  “I love reading your blog, your life is so exciting, your photos are so beautiful, please be my friend forever and ever!”  Perhaps a bit overwhelming.  How are you supposed to make friends as an adult?!

The same applied to my brief foray into online dating.  Among some truly great dates were a litany of folks who didn’t seem at all interested in getting to know another person, just playing match-up with their interests:  “You like Breaking Bad?  I like Breaking Bad!  Let’s have coffee and talk about Breaking Bad!”  Uh, maybe there’s more to life than Breaking Bad. 

And now?  I’m happily dating a customer my candy store job.  In one ten-minute conversation I formed a better connection with a human being than all the “science” behind online dating could muster!

Chance encounters are on my brain because a month from now, I’m going to meet the man I affectionately refer to as my “Big Brother” for the second time ever.  We’ve been friends since my 14th birthday.  We met…ONLINE!  On a Message Board (remember those?  I doubt it) for fans of the musical Les Miserables.  On July 31, 1998, my Big Brother sent me a message saying “Let’s just pretend like we’re old friends.”  And now?  We are old friends – I’ve known him more than half my life.  Prophesy fulfilled!  We text each other every single day.  It’s possible he knows me better than any other human being alive.  And I can’t wait to celebrate my birthday – and our 15-year Friendiversary – in person with him later next month!

I suppose the lesson behind all this is don’t touch the butterflies – let them touch you.  You can’t go out trying to force connections with people, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible to form human relationships.  The key is to be open.  I see so many people complaining about how hard it is to “meet people,” yet they go through this city and this life with their headphones in, their nose in their Kindle, and shrinking away from strangers who exchange pleasantries with them.  If I never took a chance on a chance encounter, my life would not be nearly as rich and fulfilling as it is today!