Another gift

To all who do not believe in destiny, hear ye! Hear ye!!

The craziest thing just happened to me tonight. Let me rewind... I lived in Rapid City, South Dakota during 1995 through 1998. Just three years. I started there in 8th grade and left halfway through high school. I had several good friends, but one especially: Katryna. Our moms worked together, and when my family was new to town, Katryna's mom and my mom exchanged phone numbers... for US, their daughters! It was kind of like having your parents set you up with a guy, except, it was a girlfriend. lol However, being new to town and having nothing to lose, I called Katryna's number. We had a funny and memorable first conversation, followed by meeting at the mall to go shopping. Anyway we got to be really good friends, and even when my family and I moved to Minnesota, we stayed in touch. One time we decided that halfway between our houses was the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota (a real gem of the Midwest if you've never been... hah!) so we made a weekend trip to meet there. Good times, good times.

Well, as tends to happen, we lost touch. I didn't know why; we just did. It has been at least 5 years since I have talked to or heard from Katryna.

Until tonight...

I was just sitting here in my parents' family room on Christmas Day, playing on the computer while watching TV, when I went into an email account I don't use anymore. I was looking for this obnoxious validation email that never seems to arrive. In any case, I decided to empty my junk mail folder. I scanned them quickly before deleting, when WHAT did I see but a forward from Katryna! No way!! She never sends emails to anyone, let alone to me. I opened the email and found it had been sent within just minutes. So, spastic as I am, I wrote back "Katryna!! Are you there?!" She immediately wrote back "Yeah, what's your phone number? I have way too much to say to type it out." I gave her my number, and soon we were catching up on over five years of life. Wooooohooooooo! She is doing so well, and even getting married in July. I am not surprised at all.

I love her, by the way. She is one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. Anyway, I just feel like this was all very serendipitous and a really sweet Christmas gift. All this reconnecting with friends in the last few months...