I got out of class early tonight and headed over to Trader Joe’s to pick up some basic food items that keep things running over here in apartment 2024. Wandering through the store, I tossed ground turkey, lettuce, frozen spinach and Basque Shephard’s Cheese (a 100% sheep’s milk cheese to which I am positively addicted) into my cart before I turned down the juice, snack & nut aisle and ran smack into my friend Angela.

She had a full shopping cart and was contemplating a package of sliced, dehydrated banana in the hopes of finding something to munch on at work. I recommended raw almonds as they are good, but not so wonderful that you can’t stop eating them.

It had been weeks since we had seen each other so it was terrific to have an unscheduled run-in. We started chatting away, when she looked at her cart and said, “I don’t know how I’m going to get this all home.”

“My car is here, I’d be happy to give you a ride.”

“That would be perfect! Thank you!”

Not being someone who often shops with friends, it was a kick to finish up the errand laughing and talking. I caught her up on some of the recent fun I’ve been having in the dating world and heard how things in her work and love lives were chugging along. Dropping her off in front of her house, the traffic patterns stayed clear long enough for me to hop out and give her a hug before she dashed for her door with three overfilled bags of groceries.

These moments of unplanned, unanticipated encounters with friends are part of what I live for. And part of why Philadelphia is home.