Splendid Serendipity

Tomorrow morning I leave for the farm and ranch where I grew up, to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday. Relatives and friends will be coming to South Dakota from Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, Nebraska…

While I plan to keep up with the July Intensity Project on my Everyday Intensity blog during the next few days, I’ve decided to wait to post here again until I return. First, though, I want to share a marvelous moment of serendipity.

My dad’s birthday isn’t until August, but this coming weekend was the only time when my siblings and I could all attend, so we are celebrating early. My father is the nephew of the great-aunt whose diaries I am transcribing and writing about, and I was trying to think of a way to offer the family and neighbors a taste of some of Harriet’s diary entries, but I was having a hard time finding the right entry point, the right context.

Then, last week (and I can’t believe I didn’t realize this before), I was reading her entries for this coming week and realized that the day of the party is her birthday.

How cool is that?!

So I put together a small birthday booklet with examples of Harriet’s recollections and descriptions, especially those entries that mention some of the people (or their parents or grandparents) who will be at the party. That one moment of serendipity has had me walking on air for days. It’s as if Harriet is planning this party herself.

I’m taking it as a sign that it won’t rain on Saturday. 🙂

Have a glorious, serendipitous weekend, everyone!