My "Stranger-Friend"

A few days ago, I walked into a new salon in Castle Rock. The business owner, Beth, looked like an old friend.

“Hi!”, I said, as though happy to see an old friend. “Hi!!!”, she said, with heightened emotion.

And yet, we didn’t know each other. Well, we did … but we didn’t.

We spent 20 minutes trying to figure out why we felt like we were long-lost friends, why we were so very, very sure that we were connected. But we didn’t even know each other’s names ….

We reviewed our children’s schooling and sports lives. We reviewed our church and club and neighborhood connections. We even reviewed our employment histories! But nothing matched.

We talked about hair (of course) and I planned to stop back in a few days to talk to one of her stylists. And then I left, my curiosity piqued about my “stranger-friend”.

Today, I dropped in to meet the stylist, and Beth said, “I can’t get you off of my mind.” I felt the same way. So we went through everything again, and then, suddenly, her green eyes grew wide and she said, “I was your favorite BARRISTA! … remember, at the coffee cart?”

Ah-ha! That was it.

Every morning one autumn, I would stop by her coffee cart in the lobby of my professional building. And every morning, we would fall thick into conversation. Gosh, I loved that little part of my daily routine. But that coffee cart was just a stop-gap between salons; she didn’t even count it in her employment history. And RE/MAX moved office locations, and I never saw her again.

 The memory is a funny thing. As soon as we made the connection, we instantly recalled specific information about one another. Her daughter’s going to college in Florida, my empty nest. Her back problems. My empty nest.

Friendship is a funny thing, too. There are some people on the periphery of our lives who are really very important to us. We might not realize the very positive influence they have on our routine existence, but priceless they are.

I’m so thrilled to have become reacquainted with Beth. She’s a rediscovered treasure. I am blessed!