by
Patricia Johns
& Patricia Bradley
Since Thanksgiving was last week, the two Patricias thought we'd extend the holiday and talk about some of the things we're thankful for. But not the usual things like family and love and--you get the idea.
No, we want to talk about things that usually irritate us. Don't know what we're talking about? Patricia J, you go first and explain.
Patricia Johns:
(Oh, by the way, Patricia J celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving October 10th):
Okay. "I'm thankful for a boyfriend I once had--a relatively uninteresting boyfriend. He lived four hours away, and we were better friends than we were anything else. But while I was officially his girlfriend, I met another guy. That guy had real potential--he got along with my family well, and he was a sweet country boy. I honestly could have married him!
And I'm thankful for the placeholder boyfriend, because he kept me from dating the guy with real potential. And that might seem like a silly thing to say, but if I'd married that guy, I'd never have been able to marry my husband. Ten years is a long time to wait for your soul mate, and I'd have happily settled down with the sweet country boy and missed out on the love of my life.
So I'm thankful for missed opportunities that kept me single for Mr. Johns.
Wow, Patricia J. Isn't it funny how a missed opportunity can turn out really for the best! Now my turn:
Patricia B: (And I don't have a photo of me cooking a turkey. It's been twenty years since I've cooked one.)
Several years ago I was with a group driving to Houston, TX, and before we got out of the driveway, one of the people mentioned they had to make a stop. Grumble, grumble. Took ten minutes. Finally, we were on the road.
Then a mile later as we approached a blind curve, we were flagged down by a truck driver. His logging trailer had experienced a malfunction and he'd lost a load of logs in the curve. It had happened just ten minutes earlier.
I'm thankful for delays because if we hadn't been delayed, we would have been at that curve about the time the logs tumbled into the highway. And even if we'd missed the actual logs falling, we wouldn't have been able to avoid hitting one of them in the blind curve. The driver wouldn't have had time to warn people.
So, have you ever had an inconvenience that you were thankful for?
Patricia Johns
& Patricia Bradley
Since Thanksgiving was last week, the two Patricias thought we'd extend the holiday and talk about some of the things we're thankful for. But not the usual things like family and love and--you get the idea.
No, we want to talk about things that usually irritate us. Don't know what we're talking about? Patricia J, you go first and explain.
Patricia Johns:
Okay. "I'm thankful for a boyfriend I once had--a relatively uninteresting boyfriend. He lived four hours away, and we were better friends than we were anything else. But while I was officially his girlfriend, I met another guy. That guy had real potential--he got along with my family well, and he was a sweet country boy. I honestly could have married him!
And I'm thankful for the placeholder boyfriend, because he kept me from dating the guy with real potential. And that might seem like a silly thing to say, but if I'd married that guy, I'd never have been able to marry my husband. Ten years is a long time to wait for your soul mate, and I'd have happily settled down with the sweet country boy and missed out on the love of my life.
So I'm thankful for missed opportunities that kept me single for Mr. Johns.
Wow, Patricia J. Isn't it funny how a missed opportunity can turn out really for the best! Now my turn:
Patricia B: (And I don't have a photo of me cooking a turkey. It's been twenty years since I've cooked one.)
Several years ago I was with a group driving to Houston, TX, and before we got out of the driveway, one of the people mentioned they had to make a stop. Grumble, grumble. Took ten minutes. Finally, we were on the road.
Then a mile later as we approached a blind curve, we were flagged down by a truck driver. His logging trailer had experienced a malfunction and he'd lost a load of logs in the curve. It had happened just ten minutes earlier.
I'm thankful for delays because if we hadn't been delayed, we would have been at that curve about the time the logs tumbled into the highway. And even if we'd missed the actual logs falling, we wouldn't have been able to avoid hitting one of them in the blind curve. The driver wouldn't have had time to warn people.
So, have you ever had an inconvenience that you were thankful for?
This is a pretty shallow example, I expect, but in 1992 I ordered a dress to wear to my younger son's graduation. I LOVED it in the catalog and couldn't wait to wear it. Only it never came. Ever. To this day. Even though the company said they'd sent it and then sent a replacement by Fedex. Thankfully, I was never charged. Anyway, the morning of graduation, I went into J. C. Penney and told an associate what I needed. I grabbed a few dresses off the rack and went to the dressing room. I was trying on the 3rd one and nearly in tears when the associate thrust one through the curtain. "See what you think of this. It was on the wrong rack, but it's the size you need."
ReplyDeleteTwenty-four years later, it's still my favorite dress I've ever had. I can't wear it anymore, but I've kept it all this time as a reminder of a good day and of good things happening.
I'm glad you kept it! Such a great reminder of how life can work out sometimes! :)
DeleteI love this story Liz. I can remember ordering clothes from the JC Penny catalog...and the Sears one. :-)
DeleteAll of you ladies have such good "thankful" mishaps. I can't think of any right now. I'm sure there have been many in my life. Serendipitous things that crop up and save you from making a wrong choice. I'll have to come back later today and see all of the other posts. You will have made me think about this all day.
ReplyDelete:) I'm sure there are a thousand serendipitous events we never see! Now that's a thought, isn't it?
DeleteThis example isn't quite what you're talking about, but it's all I can think of. Like most little girls, I dreamed of being a mom, then when I met Ron and we married, we imagined our children and gave them names. Then we weren't able to conceive and adopted our three - already named - and I know how much I would have missed had we not had to reach out of ourselves to find the completion of our circle. One Christmas I gave them each a plaque that read, "Don't forget, not for a minute, that you didn't grow under my heart, but in it." And that's what happens when things don't go according to plan.
ReplyDeleteAww, that's so sweet. I'm so glad they had you for a Mom, Muriel!
DeleteThese are fabulous serendipitous stories. I love reading them. I'm off to airport to fly back home from Houston. Happy post Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for knowing you all lovely and talented ladies!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a great trip, Catherine! It's great knowing all the authors at Heartwarming!
DeleteIn April, I broke my leg, which led to many weeks on the couch, living the life of a housecat. The story I wrote during that time was one of the pair Harlequin bought on my first sale. So thankful for my husband, who picked up all the slack while I was on injured reserve.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow. That's certainly making lemonade out of lemons, Beth! My mind probably wouldn't have worked.
DeleteWhen I graduated, I couldn't get a job in my field. To pay off student loans, I took a job as a waitress (I should never have got that job - did everything wrong!) First week, Friday lunch, the bartender was in. Waitress says, Kim, this is R, R this is Kim, you're both available. We're celebrating our 32nd anniversary next month.
ReplyDeleteAww, what a sweet story! Congratulations on 32 years.
DeleteThank you for these wonderful true life 'what if' stories! I can't think of one as good as these but these kinds of stories are the staring point for novels, short stories and movies.
ReplyDeleteThese are some great stories, Janice. And one of them may show up one day in one of my books!
DeleteI think I have one. When I was about 25 my father was very ill and I was depressed so I called a male friend to come get me and cheer me up. He was helping his friend paint but said they'd both come and we'd then go get his friend's girlfriend, and we'd all go to Manhattan to a popular restaurant. Well, we got stuck in traffic for about 2 hours (NYC) on the way to the girlfriend's house, and I was talking with my friend's friend, deciding that he was nice and that all the nice guys were always taken. Well, long story short, the relationship he was in with the girlfriend we were on the way to pick up was rocky, so he eventually broke up with her and started dating me. We've been married 22 years. So thankful for the traffic jam inconvenience that gave me time to get to know my future husband. ( :
ReplyDeleteLove that story, Laurie!
DeleteThank you Rula!! ( :
DeleteNow that's a great inconvenience, Laurie! And congrats on 22 years.
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia, Yes, looking back is always a blessing. We see so clearly. LOL So glad you waited to find Mr. Right. I met my hubby when he made a mistake. He asked me out in a college class and thought I was the girl he'd asked out the week before. He had to cancel that date and forgot what girl he'd asked out. We hit it off that night and have been married almost 50 years. I told him that was the best mistake he ever made. LOL
ReplyDeleteThat's really sweet! Definitely meant to be!
DeleteI love both stories! Timing really is everything and there's a positive side to everything too!
ReplyDelete