The Magic of Synchronicity, Boomer-Style

Our eyes met from across the room and I had to know him. Call it love at first sight or some sort of magical magnetism, but 37 years ago I connected with someone I didn’t know and had never seen before.

Robert and I went to the same local college in Queens, N.Y., and were one of 20,000 students in 1970 who protested the war and staged sit-ins. This particular year, we both somehow signed up to go on a 5 week, 10 credit archeological field dig in Chico, California, during the summer. I was an anthropology major in my junior year, so it made perfect sense for me, but Robert was an education/music major and a freshman. In any case, 100 of us chartered a plane to California to experience 5 weeks on a 500 year old Maidu Indian excavation site to explore the lives, history and mystery of this fascinating culture.

The first day in Chico, we all gathered to introduce ourselves and to find out the protocol and expectations of this course. I couldn’t help looking around the room to check out the other students and noticed Robert with his huge afro and tall, slim stature. He noticed me too and I remember making a mental note to recall his name and interests.

With 100 of us divided into 6 separate groups, Rob and I were assigned to be in the same site location under the same teaching assistant. As “luck” would have it, our dorm rooms were just a few feet away and we were given the same lab days to catalog our finds. Even the days we had off were amazingly the same. It was synchronicity from the get-go.

Needless to say, our relationship blossomed that summer and has continued ever since. We’ve been married 33 years and have two wonderful children. I firmly believe that we were meant to be together, since everything we experienced directed us to connect. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we have grown in our understanding of each other. Our relationship has stood the test of time and continues to evolve as we head into our “golden years” together.

I love telling this story because it reinforces for me the wisdom of the universe and that everything works out for the best in the end.