My friend, Tammy, always says, “MH, say hello to someone. Meet a friend. You may never know who you will meet.” I have been with Tammy when she says hello to someone in line, at a conference sitting next to her, even on the airplane ride. Tammy is a bucket-filler extraordinaire.
I am friendly as well, but I often will keep to myself. I attended the Michigan Reading Conference this weekend and often would smile at people, but I was content to go to a workshop, sit in a seat, listen, and reflect. I didn’t need to interact with those around me. (I definitely could envision my friend, Tammy, interacting).
Well, today I was different. I had finished a session with Debbie Diller. She autographed a name plate for me and I stayed to ask her some questions after the session. Thirty minutes later, I headed to my next destination, deciding to stop at the restroom. The hall was empty, and no line for the bathroom was there. Washing my hands, a nice lady came over. I smiled (and hearing Tammy’s nudge) and said, “How was your presentation?” I noticed the lady’s name tag has the presenter label. She said that she had just presented that morning and that it went well. She preceded to tell me a glimpse of her session, which made me curious. She then introduced herself as Patty. We walked for a bit and conversed, asking about presentations and I mentioning our AllWrite!!! Summer Institute. The conversation then led to blogging, something we both do. Patty was kind enough to share one she follows and offered to send me the link. I exchanged my email, gave my parting good-bye, and left with a smile. I really liked her. Patty was pleasant and I was thinking it would be fun to talk more about education. I knew that Tammy would be proud of me for “making a new friend”.
I went to the exhibit hall and found some bargains on books (ohhh, I can’t wait to blog about them). I walked around, reflecting on the conference, enjoying my time. As I walked down one section, I noticed a book that Carol McCloud’s Have You Filled a Bucket Today? book displayed. My eye caught another book, Wrestling the ABCs: Creating Character and Fostering Fitness. My two sons wrestle; Wes just lettering this season. So I was intrigued. It’s a hybrid text. I haven’t found books about wrestling, so I began to peruse the book.
The sales rep was nice and talked with me about it. I was persuaded to buy it. Moving to the table to make my purchase, my eye caught another book (ok, so I notice books a lot!). This book was called Engineering the ABCs: How Engineers Shape Our World. Wes is interested in engineering (another story about that later), so I thought it would be cool to get it. The lady said, “Oh, the author of the book is right here.” Following her motion, my eyes fell on a familiar face – my new friend, Patty.
She turned her head and smiled, “Hello, MaryHelen.” I grinned. What a moment! Wow!
I made my purchase. Patty and I moved to a nearby table where she signed the book. We had our picture taken together as well. I shared my Tammy saying with her and added, “This is a God-incidence.”
I look forward to hearing from Patty. Our paths may not intersect again, but for today, I met a friend. It was superb!
Posted by MaryHelen 
Book Savors 