coincidence

last month or so i ran into an old ups co-worker at sam's club. it was one of those things where the timing was JUST SO, or I wouldn't have even SEEN that it was him. he was remarried, had kids, looked great, and still at ups...now doing the same job that made me miserable. it was good to see that he was doing well, surviving his work and looked happy with his family. he had been a boss, co-worker and friend. i had even stayed at his parents' house for a couple weeks when I was between apartments.

today I went to the library to do some work. there were people sitting in my favorite carrels, so I wandered around for a bit before deciding to just make do at an available carrel. as I set my stuff down, the person on the other side of the carrel looked up and said, "hey, marie!" holy CRAP, if it wasn't one of my OTHER ups buddies. we were supervisors on the midnight shift, and we used to go to denny's after work with another supervisor a lot, eat hash browns, smoke (secondhand for me), hang out and talk about whatever. he quit ups a couple months ago, is working toward his msw and feels like he's actually doing something he was made to do. he still goes to my church, his family is doing great, and he's working in his field.

so does anyone have a theory as to why these coincidences -- which aren't necessary or important to my life -- happen? I mean, I think about these and other people every now and then and hope that they're doing okay. but that i actually get to find out sometimes, is there really a good reason for it?