People come into your life for so many reasons. Sometimes you know the reason immediately and sometimes it takes years before you know why.

The first thing I notice when I meet someone is their smile. I’m not sure what it is about a person’s smile that makes me comfortable, but when I see someone’s pearly whites smiling at me, I always have such a warm feeling. When people make you feel warm and fuzzy, you naturally gravitate towards them and want to know everything there is to know. Where do you live, what do you do, are you married, do you have kids? It’s an endless list of questions trying to learn what you can about someone who has crossed your path. Sometimes those chance meetings grow into lifelong friendships.

My husband and I were recently on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. We have always liked having a set time to dine. We like having the same waitstaff and dining with the same people every night. It’s part of the cruise experience. We love finding out what everyone did that day, did they explore a place we haven’t, did they find great deals that we will have to remember for the next time, did they have fun! That’s probably the most important thing….fun. Everyone wants to have fun on vacation. 

On this particular cruise we asked for our usual early dining time and were given “your time dining.” It’s a new concept where you show up to the dining room and are seated when you’re ready to eat. While you can request a specific waitstaff, sometimes you’ll have a longer wait time and you will probably sit with a new set of people or dine alone. We noticed the most of the tables were tables for two and we were told you have to wait to dine with others. We talked to the Maître d’ and requested the early dining time. The next evening we sat with people who would become our friends. We had the absolute best time with our “new” friends. This was one of our first times cruising sans kids. We were able to have delightful and interesting adult conversations. The Maître d’ did a superb job of seating us with just the right people. We couldn’t have been more happy. So much so, that we booked another cruise with one couple (still hoping the other will join us) for a Jamaican cruise next spring. We know that we are going to have a blast!

So why did these people come into our lives? I’m not sure what the bigger picture is, but they are fun, interesting and we had just enough in common to share stories and just enough in differences to ….. well, share stories. I always feel lucky when I meet people who can add something to my life. That’s how I felt when we meet Chris and Stacy and Dean and LaDonna. Can’t wait for spring and here’s to hoping Dean and LaDonna join us!