Sometimes I marvel at the little sequences in life, how, when you look back with that proverbial 20/20, things worked out just the way they did for something special or right to happen. Like a pinball machine or the crazy game in the Price is Right where the contestant drops a big coin at the top of a game and tries to get it to fall into one of the prize columns at the bottom. I don't watch the Price is Right (obviously as this game has a specific name!) But life works like that sometimes.
My yesterday was like that. Rushing to get my blog done before visiting a friend for popcorn and a movie, I found I was running late. I still had popcorn to pop and butter to melt. And Rogue wanted to go outside. I couldn't deny him as it was so warm and sunny on the back deck. But if i let him out he's old, quite death and quite blind plus plain stubborn. Trying to get him back in the house can be a challenge. But I started the popcorn popper to let it warm up as usual and let him out. He basked in the sun, nose sniffing the spring air. I put the kernels into my popcorn machine. Nothing. It made its usual noise but the popcorn did nothing. It hadn't heated up. And despite me talking to it, unplugging it and trying all over again, it still didn't heat up. I'm sending frantic texts to Val: Running late. Sorry. Popcorn machine not working--do you have one? I can bring unpopped corn and melted butter and pop. She never answered. Rogue had left the deck and was meandering all over the yard. I sorted the melted butter, unpopped corn and pop into a bag then tried to encourage Rogue to come in by clapping. Reluctantly he jumped up the steps and came inside. I gave him treats and headed out, later than the time I was supposed to be at Val's originally. As I approached her house, someone was parked in 'my' spot, right outside under a small tree. Not that mattered, as there were no car in her driveway. Strange. Had she been called in to work? Had something happened and her sister was in the house to let me know? (ask anyone in my family--my thoughts always turn alarmist first. I'm working on it) Maybe her car was in the shop? I pulled into the driveway and ran the doorbell and knocked on the door. And I checked the thread of text messages that had led to our arranging this get together. Yep. My fault. Val had suggested NEXT week. Duh. I sent another text: OK I'm at your door...I obviously have the wrong day. Lol. Going home now. I got in the car and started it, had to wait for a string of traffic to pass. One of which was Val. I moved out of the way, gave her a little wave, parked down the street, then walked up to meet her getting out of the car. I felt silly as I apologized and explained everything. My mistake, how I'd been held up. "I had a few errands to run, had coffee," Val said. "But I'm off today anyway. We could watch the movie today." We could? Did she have a popcorn popper? Yes she did. A cute red one that looked like a vendor's cart in a park and popped perfect popcorn. So we visited and watched a movie, Lady Bird. (I highly recommend it--even the movie wasn't what I expected...a contemporary coming of age story, not the movie on Lady Bird Johnson as I had thought!) We both enjoyed our visit and I contemplated at the jiggly sequence of events and misadventures that caused the visit to happen. Had I been on time or not had to mess on with the popcorn popper or with Rogue, I'd have missed her. And our yesterday together wouldn't have happened. Nor would the time Val had originally suggested as I'm working full days next week. These little time snafus remind me of 9/11, of the stories that materialised of people who missed being in the buildings through one thing or another...missing a bus, buying a band aid, an appointment rearranged at the last minute. No comfort of course to the families and friends of others who were there, perhaps erroneously at that time. But still an interesting reflection on the sequence of events that make up our days. One of my favourite songs growing up was 'Que Sara Sara' by Doris Day. What will be will be. I like to think we have more individual choice than that now, but sometimes I wonder. May your day unfold beautifully.
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AuthorWelcome! I'm Sue Blott: a writer of all things, a poet at heart, mom, wife, daughter, step-mom, grandma, tea drinker, tai chi-er, mystic, artist, dreamer...and now a blogger! This is my world. Categories |