Me, Myself and I

I met myself this weekend. Rather, myself, had I veered off in another direction. Had life take me another route. Let me elaborate.

I was introduced to a woman this weekend who has a Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard. Neat, eh? I knew I would find her to be a fascinating dinner conversationalist, but didn't expect her to be so much like me in other ways. Not that I'm an anthropologist. Nor was there any chance of me getting a degree from Harvard.

I took the weekend and went to the Cities to visit my sister-in-law. The only one I have anymore, in case there is any confusion out there. It was a wonderful weekend. Saturday night we were invited to her friends house for dinner, and then out to a coffee house for some music by a professor who specializes in blues.

The friend, whom I will refer to as the anthro woman, lived in a home which I might have lived in had I never gotten married to the ex. Older, with a variety of do dads displayed which were obviously meaningful to the owner, but not me. I was immediately comfortable in it. Weird. As she finished putting dinner on the table, she came across as slightly ditzy. We sat down to dinner and although she was very nice, I just didn't get the whole Harvard thing. My sister-in-law got her talking about anthropology and suddenly she was completely brilliant. She responded to things with humor, with child-like enthusiasm and curiosity. Her faith issues were similar to what mine used to be.

We sat on the couch to visit, her and I on one couch and my sister-in-law on the other. One of the children came out with a toy, which she examined and I suggested might be one of those things that can get flung at the wall and stick (and make marks). From out of nowhere, she took the thing and smashed it into the wall twice. It didn't stick. Then she flung it at me a couple of times. Her behavior, her movements, the look on her face, was so much like my own - and I can say this with some accuracy because my middle child mirrors my own expressions, too - it was wild.

I felt as if I'd known her forever. The same for her daughter. It was weird. It was not a conversation where we just connected that made me feel this way, but simply hanging out with her. It is difficult to describe. I left her house muttering to my sister-in-law that it was like meeting myself. It was very, very strange. Not that I'm brilliant. I need to clarify that. Her personality is what struck me as similar, not her brain power. (Although, having brains like that would be a very cool thing.)

My ex used to refer to me as the "absentminded professor". My name, completelybrunette, is based on the fact that a friend of mine told me I have both a brunette (smart and serious) side and a blonde (funny and ditzy) side. I do. So did the anthro woman. She was content, she was happy, she was ok with who she was. She knew she was a little quirky, but not so far that she wasn't "main stream". She greeted life with enthusiasm. All but those extremely close to her probably think of her as quiet and slightly reserved. She was not. I suspect she can be incredibly obnoxious. After the incident with the toy being smashed into the wall, I knew she'd be an absolute blast no matter what environment you threw her into. Her curiosity, her sense of humor would make just about anything enjoyable.

This is one of those weekends where I am so glad life has taken me in this direction and given me the time and inclination to expand my horizons beyond Mr. Ex and his narrow world (which so completely revolved around appearances). How's that for a run-on sentence.

God closes one door but opens another.