Almost 7 years ago our family moved to a little cul-de-sac in the west end of NDG. And in that cul-de-sac we have developed great friendships over the years. But this week as I thought about it I realized that I couldn’t really pinpoint the first time I met any one of those neighbours. I know the general timeframe when I met them – it would have been around June or July 2008. But I don’t remember specifically meeting any of them for the first time. At this point we’re all just part of the neighbourhood furniture, whenever it was that we first met. That’s probably the case with a lot of people in our lives. If we stopped to think about it, we might not be able to pinpoint the first time we met them, or the first time we saw them.

Of course there are some people for whom we remember that first encounter. It helps if there was something memorable about the circumstances. It’s easy to remember the first time you met someone if it was at a job interview for example. Or it would probably help if they spilled coffee all over you the first time you met. That would make it memorable. For some people in our lives, there was something distinct or memorable about that first meeting, and so we can pinpoint it easily.

And then of course there are those first meetings that are so precious to us – and so much a part of who we are. Think of a first meeting with someone who became so special to you. Think of that first meeting with your child or your niece or nephew after their birth. A squawking, vulnerable, little baby, naked and then wrapped up tight in blankets – held so close and tenderly. Continue reading →