Right Before My Eyes!

I really had a hard time coming up with a title for this post and ended up going with "Right Before My Eyes" because she was!  I spent lots of time today wondering why things happen in life, how things happen and why things don't happen!  I thought about how it's a small world in this big city!  I thought too how you never know who you are going to run into when you are out and about!  Obviously, I had a hard time accomplishing anything at work today!  My mind was everywhere else!

Now I will get to where I am going with all this!  I saw an obituary in the paper and the girl looked familiar.  Her name was Colleen.  From what was shared with us of her life, I thought well I could have passed her on the running trails or maybe saw her on my work commute or even noticed her around "X" campus.  Her smile was so bright and so big, you couldn't miss it!

Then this morning I noticed my hiking friend posted a message of condolences and photos of Colleen.  She looked so familiar and her name rang a big loud bell.  I tried to let it go as I needed to get out the door to work.  As I opened my front door, I was overwhelmed when all the puzzle pieces came together in a flash.  I ran to my basement and tore through my university photo albums.  This is what I was looking for and found!  It's Colleen, me and Kim.

How could I ever have forgotten that Colleen was a friend during my last year at "X".  Years have passed, everyone moved on and went their separate ways and people were forgotten.  A few years back I went in search of those that were forgotten and was fortunate enough to find a few, Kim being one of them who I found lives and works in Georgia, where the friendships have been rekindled but I never did track down Colleen.  Little did I know she was right here in the same city as me, running the same paths as me, and was even hiking with some of my friends which blows my mind when I think of it.  It's such a small world in this big city!

What I have to share with you next even blows my mind more!  As of this morning I realize Colleen hiked with some of the same circle of folks as me but we have never crossed hiking paths, or so I thought.   I checked out what mountains she conquered and I could not believe it when I saw where she was on October 4th, 2010.  This is a photo of her on the Big Beehive near Lake Louise.

On October 4th, 2010 I did a solo hike to Lake Agnes and the Big Beehive.  A group of eight came along behind me, two of whom I knew and hiked with before so chatted with them for awhile.  Then an introduction was made and I was told this was Colleen and it's her first event with the club.  I welcomed her to the club and we shared a few pleasant words then went our separate ways.  Only this morning did all these puzzle pieces fall into place and then I realized she was there "right before my eyes" and I didn't even know it!  In that Lake Agnes Big Beehive blog post, I talked about the day being a gift and the reason was for having such gorgeous weather but now that word "gift" takes on a whole new meaning!

I'm still scratching my head wondering why things happen in life, how things happen and why things don't happen!  While I may not be able to figure any of this out, there is one thing I do know for sure and that is even though Colleen is at peace her big bright smile will continue to shine!