One of My BEST Fate Stories

They say everything happens for a reason. Who are "they" and what is the reason.

I wanted to save this story for somewhere down the road but I just can't wait. This can be nothing other than fate.

In December of 2006, my friend asked me to pay for something she bought on Ebay (she didn't have Paypal) and she would reimburse me for the item. When I went to pay the seller, I noticed his address was Oss in the Netherlands.

When I sent the payment, I added a note and told the Dutchman that my boyfriend worked for a company whose headquarters were in Oss and gave him the name of the company. He wrote back and said, "I, too work for that company."

Out of everyone in the entire world, what are the chances of this happening.

We emailed each other often and a few months later my boyfriend went there on business and I set up a meeting with the 2 of them. He met the Dutchman and his family and came home telling me how nice and hospitable they all were. After that, I kept in constant email contact with the Dutchman and 6 months later my boyfriend and I went to Oss and I met the Dutchman and his family.

Their English was very good and they showed me around Holland while my boyfriend was in his meetings. It was the experience of a lifetime and I have made a friend for life.

It was amazing enough for this to happen and then to actually meet him. We have kept in touch now for over 2 1/2 years and I consider him one of my dearest friends!

There are 2 more parts to this story so stay tuned....

Circle of Friends

This story is about friends, lovers and other strangers, who became connected through coincidence and for 2 of them ending up where they first started.

I am protecting their identity with fictitious names. I hope they like the names I picked out for them.

Preston and Lillian grew up as neighborhood kids in North Jersey.
Kim grew up in Virginia and Benson grew up in PA.

It all started with Benson going off to college in Virginia where he met Kim who was attending the same school. They dated for Freshman year and then Sophomore year, Benson transferred to a college in PA.

When in the PA college, Benson met Lillian and the two of them dated for 3 years until he graduated. Lillian and Benson stayed together for awhile, Lillian graduated the following year and went home to North Jersey.

When Benson left Virginia to attend college in PA, Kim met Preston at his college in Virginia and they started dating. They dated until Preston graduated and went home to North Jersey.

So, while Preston and Kim were dating in Virginia, Benson and Lillian were dating in PA. They all knew about each other because of their past connections.

They all broke up with their respective partners when they graduated college and went back to their hometowns.

Now we are at the end of our story....what do you think happened next?????

Preston and Lilllian started dating and have been together ever since!!!

And the coincidence continues......Benson met a girl years later when he moved to Virginia for a job. They have been dating now for 3 years. Guess what her name is....Her first name is Kim and her middle name is Lillian!!!!!

A Game of Chance?

Destiny- "The fixed order of things - invincible necessity - fate - a resistless power or agency conceived of as determining the future whether in general or of an individual."

Coincidence - "A term used by many indicating fluke, luck or chance but when you look to the heart of it, you'll see there is more to it than you think."

Has something strange ever happened to you where you ended up brushing it off as coincidence? You know, one of those fluke things that you can’t explain, but don’t really want to attach any significance or meaning to it? For example, you think about a friend and later that day he or she calls you. Or, you run into people that are linked to your past through someone else and your paths cross.

In November 2001, when I first started working at the local YMCA in Downingtown, one of the fitness instructors asked me my last name and when I told her she said I had a twin in Malvern. I asked her the woman's name and when she told me I nearly lost my front teeth!!!!

My son had been dating a girl from Malvern and "my twin" just happened to be her mother. For those of you who are not aware of the geographics, Malvern is about 15 miles or so from Downingtown. I'm not sure how the fitness instructor knew "my twin" but you can be sure I am going to ask her!!

How do we explain these happenings? Is it really all a game of chance and if so, what are the chances that I would even know this woman let alone my son would be dating her daughter.

“A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have”

This story is about my girlfriend of 22 years. The way we met is not that unusual but the similarities that followed were extraordinary and we will be "sisters" forever.

I was at the local YMCA taking an exercise class to lose some of my baby fat from my second child. One night during class, I looked over and saw a woman who reminded me of a soap opera star. My mom and I watched a soap called "Loving" and she looked like a beautiful woman whose role name was "Ava." (Many years after we became friends, her niece named her daughter Ava - not knowing the story of how we met!!!)

I went over to her after class and told her that she resembled this adorable woman. She very nicely replied, "I don't watch soap operas." We started talking after a few classes passed and realized that we had sons in the same kindergarten class, we both taught piano and lived 3 minutes away from each other.

We became friends and walked and talked every morning before our children got on the school bus. We did this for 10 years until we moved far enough away that walking became impossible but we remained friends.

We socialized with our spouses and other friends in common, had our piano recitals together, and did a variety of other things together.

There are two other things that I feel are huge coincidences. Her next door neighbors used to shop at a supermarket that I worked in when I was a teenager -about 15 years from then. They always came through my cash register line and their son was also in my son's kindergarten class. We also became very good friends in the years that followed. And her other neighbor across the street was a woman that I went to high school with whose son ended up becoming friends with my son!

We both feel that we are truly connected by something other than chance....what do you think?

The Many Faces of Fate

Mostly my blog relates to fateful love encounters but I do want to interject other fateful situations. I would like to start with one that happened in 1985.

We moved from Delaware County to Chester County, as did many others like us so running into people from Delaware County was a common occurrence for me.

There was only 1 supermarket in the area so when the Clemen's opened in Lionville, I was thrilled. Being a regular shopper you got to know the employees & I loved sharing with them that I was an ex-Pathmark employee.

One day I was telling the meat manager how I worked at the Pathmark in Marple. He told me that his grandmother lived in Broomall. I told him I grew up in Broomall on Springhouse Lane & he said, "My grandmother lived on Springhouse Lane."

Just so you know, Springhouse Lane is a very LONG Lane. There are probably 25 houses on each side of the street so what are the chances that I would know his grandmother. When he told me her name, I could not believe it. She was my next door neighbor!!!!! She was my mother's best friend! She used to give my sister & I candy & we were always over there visiting her. Her children attended my wedding!!

After this fateful encounter, I started keeping a diary of similar stories & encounters. I can't wait to share them with you.

Forever & A Day

This story is how my mom & dad met, known for many years as Loo & Poo.

They grew up in South Philly, about 15 blocks from each other, their mothers were friendly & they had a few friends in common. They first met at age 14 at a Halloween party. They were all playing "Spin the Bottle" & Loo refused to kiss any of the boys.

10 years later, a neighborhood friend (Andy) asked Loo out on a date to double with Poo & his date. When Poo asked Andy who he was bringing as his date & told him it was Loo, Poo's comment was, "Oh, that Wallflower?"

They went to the Officer's Club in Willow Grove for dinner & dancing. At some point they switched dancing partners & after that first dance, Poo refused to give Loo back to her date & danced with her the rest of the night.

They dated for years & Loo was very happy being single & put off his marriage proposals for a few more years until finally they tied the knot & lived happily together for 56 years!!

Dad passed away in September of 2006 & what do you think is on his tombstone? "Forever and a Day."

The Fickle Finger of Fate

We've all heard this expression before about the fickle finger of fate. Do we determine our destiny or is it already mapped out for us? So many people have stories of missing a flight & it crashed or taking a different route to work & missing a huge tractor trailer accident.

There is "good" fate & "bad" fate & although I started this blog to tell the wonderful fate stories of couples in love, occasionally there will be some unpleasant reminders of the "bad" fate.

I didn't intend to start off on a bad note but I will share an unfortunate fate story with you.

When my sister was 25, she & her husband of only 1 year, were hit by a truck while they were on a motorcycle on the way to Valley Forge Park. Here are the chain of events that caused their "bad" fate.

A driver headed west went around a bicyclist into the oncoming lane. Another driver headed east jammed his brakes on causing all of the cars behind him to come to a sudden stop. The motorcycle either tried to stop suddenly and/or swerved into the oncoming lane where a truck was headed west.

That was the end of their lives, 2 young newlyweds in love, never thinking that they would not make it home for dinner that night. Could this have been avoided or was it their destiny?

My First Post

This is my first post to my newly created blog.

I have been wanting to write a book about FATE & how & why certain people come in and out of our lives & for what reason.

I do believe that there are reasons but yet to figure out the WHY....so, I am writing about the "fateish" things that have happened to me & the people I have met with such great FATE stories that I want to share them with the world.

So, stay tuned....more to come!!!