Small World

I had 2 reminders today that we live in a very small world.

We ventured out to a local mall this morning.  I needed to make a return and Matt needed to pick up something.  As Matt waited in line with Waverly and I tried (unsuccessfully) to keep Oliver from having a total meltdown in the store, a friendly voice came up behind me.  She recognized Waverly from an article in our university's magazine.  It was so nice to make a local connection.  She was so kind and extended an invitation to get together.

After the mall and a disastrous attempt at lunch in a restaurant...we tried to take the kids to Pei Wei.  Not nearly enough room to accommodate a wheelchair and the line was much too long for an impatient little boy who was desperate to eat.  Matt fed the kids in the van, while I got take out for us....we ended up at our favorite playground.

I have to back up here for a moment.  On our flight to Orlando for Oliver's Make-a-Wish trip, we sat next to the nicest family.  The mom and I started chatting -  we talked the entire flight, which made the trip go by so quickly.  I told her about our trip, the kids, Sanfilippo, etc.  Our story.  She was so sweet and mentioned that her sister had a son with special needs.  Her mom also works at the kids' school.  We exchanged email addresses and hoped to keep in touch.  The next day I got an email from her.  She had mentioned to her family that she had met our family and one of her sisters has been following our blog for over 2 years.  She actually sent me a logo design about a year ago (which I still have saved).

I have now become facebook friends with the sister on the plane, the sister who sent the logo and the sister whose son has special needs (we have a family friend in common, too).

Fast forward back to today and we were able to meet the sister who has a child with special needs today at our favorite park.  What a lovely family!!  Their son is absolutely adorable.  It was so nice to spend some time connecting with another couple who *gets it*.

We had a wonderful day, enjoying the beautiful taste of spring weather and forming friendships with local families.  It has been so difficult to find our place here in DC.  Our foreign service friends come and go so quickly, so it is refreshing to meet people who aren't going to move back overseas in 9 months.  It is nice to finally feel like we are home here.