I came home this evening, set on doing laundry. I went down to the guest kitchen in the basement - which is where the washer and dryer is located. I was glad to see my landlady, Daisy, as I had missed her this morning. I wanted to let her know that I had found another apartment, and that if she needed her driver to come earlier in February, I could move out early. She was speaking with another tenant - Sonny - and it sounded as if Sonny was anxiously looking for another place to stay.
It turns out that Daisy's driver from Denmark (a story for another time) was indeed going to come on February 8th. He needed a room to stay in, given that part of his pay for his position will be in free rent. I had paid through February. All of the other tenants were paid through the rest of the spring semester. Only Sonny was month to month - and so Daisy was trying to help her find another place to stay. This seemed like a perfect time to let her know.
And so I did.
Daisy was so sad to see me go - but was so happy that I had found a place so soon. She was also happy that Sonny now could stay. Sonny was REALLY happy - as she did not have the time to be looking for another place. This little "nudge" for me to look for an apartment had more than one outcome - it affected other people, too. Sonny bought vanilla Breyers Ice Cream, I broke out my Cointreau (left over from my new year's celebration with my women friends), Daisy pulled out some liqueur glasses that she had bought at a Belgian flea market, and the three of us celebrated.
I will visit Daisy in the future...I really enjoy her company, and I have loved touching base with her in the mornings and/or evenings. I will miss that when I am alone in my own apartment. And, after all, she is my first new friend on this new adventure.
So - little self-centered me. Here I was thinking that the magic of finding this apartment was all about me. How wrong I was. There was a whole series of events from which others besides myself benefited.
I have this picture in my head of those energies and spirits that have aided me, and in turn aided Sonny and Daisy, too. Do you think that, as they view us, they say things like, "Do you think she will hear this time?" "Do you think she will act?" "Do you think that they will celebrate how all of this has worked out - or will they just chalk it up to chance?"
This Lucky Duck noticed. And she's grateful and amazed at how life brings unexpected gifts - and even more amazed when almost strangers can celebrate their good fortune with Cointreau and ice cream, being grateful for the good fortune that has come their way...celebrating their joy as they brush up against each other's humanness.
In the words of Owen Wilson: WOW!
