8 January 2003

   It never ceases to amaze me how small things can have a large impact later on. Let me tell you what happened to me on another Wednesday afternoon 11 years ago.
   It was a warm January day. Warm for this time of year anyway. When the winter weather is that nice there is only one thing you can do. Go out. I was living in a small town in Wisconsin and decided to cross the river into Minnesota and walk around another town there.
 Once I got there I stopped into a few shops and most likely made a few purchases. I walked along by the river and enjoyed the lovely weather and the fresh air.
  Several of the shops had an ad for a small coffee shop on the edge of the business district. It was built into the caves in that area. It also had a strange name. I was always looking for new places to try out. I also prefer to patronize locally owned businesses.
  When I got inside there was one person ahead of me. I didn't mind. I looked at the drink menu to see what was available. I decided to go with my standard latte with Irish cream. That's always a safe bet in a new coffeeshop. No matter how inexperienced the barista, that is one drink that they can all make easily. Unless you have really bad ingredients, it's hard to screw it up.
  There was a guy working at the counter. He had longer dark hair. He took my order and we chatted about the weather a bit. I paid for my drink, left a tip and found a place to sit in the back of the shop. I pulled a book out of my purse and began to read as I enjoyed my drink. It was pretty good. The guy had done a nice job. I liked the atmosphere of the place although it was a little cold. That's to be expected when you are sitting in a cave. When I finished my drink, I threw away the paper cup, put my book away and went home.
  The place left a good impression on me. I was definitely going to come back there again.
  I'm sure you are wondering why this is important. It was just a trip to a coffeeshop. Nothing important happened.
   Actually something important did happen. What I didn't know was that that nice guy who waited on me was starting his life over again. He had been divorced for awhile and was thinking about dating again. He didn't want to repeat his past romantic mistakes so he prayed that he would know who the right woman was when he saw her. I didn't realize that our first meeting was like love at first sight for him. He called his sister later that day and told her that he thought he had found the right one.
   I did go back to that coffeeshop and found out that the guy was a songwriter and musician. We had something in common. I went back again to find out his name and if he played on a regular basis. That was when we had our first real conversation. We started talking and we never stopped.
   Do you know who the guy is? In case you haven't figured it out, it's C. We were engaged about six months after we first met and we married about a year and a half after that first meeting.
   If someone had told me 11 years ago that I would meet my future husband and have the kind of life I lead now, I think I would have warned them to stay away from recreational drugs. it was such a small thing, but it lead to so many other wonderful things.
  I wouldn't be writing this. I wouldn't be sitting in a house with the smell of baking bread perfuming the air. I wouldn't be playing the harp or the dulcimer. I wouldn't have five wonderful stepchildren and six equally wonderful grandchildren. I am so blessed and so thankful that I went to that coffee shop that day.
   The moral of the story is this. Anything can happen. You never know when the small thing that you do or don't do is going to have a major influence down the road. It could be something pretty wonderful.

Happy Anniversary C!