I wasn’t sure exactly why I started this blog. I’ve kind of continued on faith that the reasons for it would make themselves known to me. Three encounters in the past month have encouraged me that I’m doing the right thing.

At our neighborhood association meeting at the beginning of February, I spoke with one of my neighbors who’s also working on our landmarking effort. He mentioned his garden, so I told him about this blog. Turns out he’s already a reader. This was the first time I’ve met a reader in real life.

Last Wednesday my partner and I shared the special Valentine’s Day dinner at a local restaurant. The other couples sitting around us turned out to all be neighbors. And again, during introductions, I learned that one of the neighbors already knew about this blog.

Last Friday I stopped into the storefront office of a business owner I know from the neighborhood. When I walked in, she said “We were just talking about you!” She had just learned about the possible creation of a community garden in our neighborhood, an area with little public open space. She knew of my interest in gradening, even though she didn’t know about this blog until that meeting.

I think of serendipity as kind of a cosmic wink. I am grateful that this blog brings me in contact with folks from all over the world. It is a gift that it also brings me into contact with my neighbors. Since we bought our home two years ago, I have increasingly found a sense of place here that I’ve never felt anywhere else. It feels like more than home. It feels like I belong to a community, and that’s a sign of some deep healing for me.