Chance Run-ins

I find it interesting to note the frequency with which I run into certain people.  The Phoenix metro area has a large population (over 4 million, which includes two counties).  Even if we narrow it down to the suburbs where I do most of my going about, there's a significant population (nearly 500,000 people).  So, I find it funny when I keep running into someone I barely know.  She's the mom of one of Tink's friend's friends (try saying that fast).  The little girl, D., went to the same pre-school Tink did, but Tink was in the afternoon class, and D. and R. (Tink's friend from Kindergarten and 1st Grade) were in the morning class.  


When I first met D.'s mom (whose name I still can't remember), Tink and I were at R.'s joint birthday party with D.  She said I looked familiar, and I had just learned that the girls all went to the same preschool, so I said it must have been the trip to the zoo with the preschool she was remembering me from since both classes went at the same time.  


Fast forward one year, and I'm shopping at Walmart with my toddler boy.  I see D.'s mom, but can't remember who she is.  She sees me and I see a light of recognition in her eyes.  We pass and say hello, but I'm past her before I remember where I've met her.  I don't know if she ever realized where she knew me from.  


After that we saw one another briefly at another of R.'s birthday parties.  We didn't talk much, and we didn't talk about the Walmart run-in.  Today I was at Sprouts buying fruit, and who is two people ahead of me in line?  D.'s mom.  She saw me as she was getting her bags to leave and smiled.  I smiled back.  


I sometimes wonder at the fact that I keep seeing D.'s mom and not any of her friends' moms.  It's kind of funny that we keep seeing one another on our daily errands, isn't it?  I wonder if maybe one day we're actually meant to start up a conversation and become friends.  Who knows?  I mean, I don't run into other people more than once in the course of a year.  If I run into them, it's maybe once every five years (this isn't counting planned meetings).  I guess only time will tell if it means something or if it's just an odd coincidence.


UPDATE (January 2012):  In October, I met this mother at another (L.'s) birthday party.  We got to talking about how funny it is that we keep running into one another.  It was also funny that this party was for a girl at my daughter's school who went to D.'s school the year before.  When D. found out that L. was going to the same new school that R. was moving to, she told L. to seek R. out to become friends.  Since my daughter and R. were friends and my daughter and L. were in the same class, L. and my daughter became good friends, too.