Hi all! What are you up to today? I’ve been crafting, baking, and watching the Wild in the nice warm comfort of my own home.

I did, however, make it outdoors for a short trip after work. It wasn’t a long trip (I minimize my exposure to that sub-zero weather!) but it did spark an idea for today’s Travelin’ Thursday post.

I was at my local library branch, where I visit multiple times a week, trying to figure out how to consolidate my accounts since moving to the other side of the river. As I chatted with the librarian, we were discussing who knows what, and he mentioned that when he was in Chicago this past fall, he happened to see me at the Art Institute of Chicago, but didn’t realize how he knew me until a few weeks later. We laughed about how funny and random it was.

Or was it? I don’t think I can think of a single vacation I’ve been on where I didn’t run into someone I knew from somewhere else. Maybe a few times, but its rare.

In San Francisco we ran into some of man-go-round’s friends who he hadn’t seen in years. In Sevilla, Spain I almost physically collided with a classmate from back home (who was not studying in Madrid with me). I saw a former boss who I nannied for on the streets of the Upper East Side in Manhattan, saw a high school friend in Mexico, and a coworker on a layover in O’Hare.

What on earth is the meaning of all of this? Everything, or nothing. I don’t know. I am sure it means that I travel in circles who are lucky enough to travel the globe. I am sure it means that I like to get out and about when I travel, so I am likely to run into a few people from time to time. Is there some cosmic meaning, though?

I don’t think so, I think it is just the way it is.

Do you ever run into people in places you don’t expect to? Do you find meaning in these coincidences or brush it off? If you see an acquaintance, do you approach them or let them be?

Meri