Sweet Encounters

I woke up this morning dreaming about Jenna.  It was such a nice way to start to the day.  I have to admit it's been a while since I've dreamed about her so that made it even nicer. There were some crazy elements to the dream too--like I wrecked my car. My dreams tend to be a little whacky most of the time.
But back to Jenna---I had no idea that waking up as I did would just be the beginning of my Jenna enounters for the day.
I was working out at the gym with a group of ladies and we were chatting about school schedules and all kinds of stuff.  A man who was also there started chatting with us and he introduced himself.  He has a daughter who is one of Morgan's friends so we made that connection and chatted for a few minutes when he asked the question "Is Morgan your oldest child?"  I quickly told him no that she had an older sister Jenna who passed away 4 years ago.  He had the deer in the headlights look for a few moments but quickly said "Oh, I knew about that, I'm so sorry" and went on to be totally mortified that he asked that question.  I've gotten good at handling this sort of thing(making people feel at ease about the awkward questions)....it never bothers me to talk about Jenna or tell people about Morgan's sister.  I went on about my workout and smiled that I'd had 2 "Jenna moments" in one day.  I didn't know there was another coming. 
After I finished working out I was in the restroom and ran into a lady who lost her husband about 5 years ago.  She asked how I was doing (in that way that I knew she was referring to life without Jenna) and then said --"You've just had an anniversary of her death, haven't you?"  We chatted for a while about our lives and how we're getting along without our loved ones and how God is right there with us.  It was so nice to chat with someone who wasn't afraid to mention Jenna or the fact that she's gone....she's lived it (a little differently)so I guess she really knows it's ok.  And she isn't someone in my normal circle of friends/people who I frequently talk about Jenna with.
It was just one of those days with unexpected encounters with people that brought up Jenna's name and made me smile and think sweet thoughts....kind of like I got a special dose of love and sunshine courtesy of my sweet girl.
Makes me want to reach out and do the same for others.
Love, Tricia