I saw a past ghost today ...

In that split second before I walked in the house, it dawned on me who he was.

Did he recognize me? I think he did. I think we were both surprised. To say I was shocked would be more like it. I remember the same thing happening before, that I would just run smack into him if I was out and about ... or he would just "show up out of the blue." Strange how that happens and why it happened today especially after nearly 10, no 11 years? ...

Actually I was on lunch break, and my daughter and son in law had stopped in. I noticed my connection to the Internet was not working. They only stayed a few minutes and left, as they were in town running some errands and needed a bathroom relief. Anyway, after they had left I had momentarily tried to rehook to the internet but to no avail. When reaching for the phone to call the phone company about my DSL, I realized I had no phone connection? I was confused about what perhaps could be going on, so I rushed out the backdoor and onto the deck, hoping that daughter and son in law were in the garage (as they usually are) as their things are still stored there, and I hollered "Rae?"

I noticed some man had walked from the side of my garage up towards my deck and to the side of my house? At first I didn't think much of it except that perhaps he was cutting through my yard to access a neighbor. I thought how strange, he said there was no "Ray" ... I informed him I was looking for my daughter, and I noticed he had was carrying this yellow "bag" thing that I associated with utility workers, so I asked him if he was from the phone company, that I had just tried to call and that I didn't have phone service, nor internet service ... and that was strange ... I mumbled around asking him if he was working on the lines or something. He told me he was there for put a line in for Apt. 3, and then I sorta of realized he must have meant next door, however why he would cut through my yard unless he was lost I didn't know.

He asked me how long I had been living here? I thought that kind of strange...I mumbled some stupid answer as I locked my gaze in his direction catching those blue eyes of his... and then it hit me like a ton of bricks... how could I have forgotten those piercing blue eyes? I mumbled something like 8 years which was not right, or course, but it came off the top of my head ... Why did I say that? and why would he suddenly just appear at the wrong address rehashing memories for me I had tried so hard to bury.

Why now? Were we supposed to finally give one another an opportunity to clear the air between us because of an incident 11 years ago? Neither one of us took that initiative I guess not knowing whether it was best to just let sleeping dogs lie. I was hoping that maybe he wouldn't see any recognition in my face as to who he was. I probably could not have talked to him about it without breaking down even if he had tried to. Anyway he knows where I am now. I don't know what this means or even why our paths had crossed today after 11 years..

All I know is that when I came back in and went upstairs and cleaned up a little, put clean clothes, thinking I was going to have to walk up to the phone company a block away to report my down service, it miraculously came back on! I had full service to include phone and internet. I was thankful for no down time so my workday could be completed without incident. However I attributed it to the fact that he had hit a wrong button somewhere. In all this time our paths had not crossed for 10 years, so why today?

Only recently was I talking to my girlfriend about this whole incident that happened 11 years ago on top of my going through a bitter divorce, having my eldest daughter in foster care because of my soon to be ex, and grieving my father's death just a few months earlier. Yes, it was a very emotionally trying time for me, a time when I was very sick physically and emotionally. I was just telling her how much I needed to come to terms with what happened and close the book on that chapter. Was this part of a master plan on God's [plan for me to heal this between us after 11 years because he waltzed in my yard today?

I don't know, it's all so very strange.