Had I not gone to Toronto this summer ...

Leaf under pine tree near driveway

Yesterday, dropping my nephew Liu (age 10) to school, he asked me out of the blue if I knew a particular little girl in his class.

Me: No. Is she your best friend?
Liu: No. But she's my good friend.
Me: What's the difference between a good friend and a best friend?
Liu (long pause as he tries to figure it out ... and then a shrug): I dunno.

Maybe he's right. We dunno. I don't have one best friend. But I have good friends whom I could also refer to as 'some of my best friends'.

Two of my 'best friends' live about 5 - 10 minutes walk from each other. Even though they've lived in such proximity for many years and knew each other on a "Hi, how are you?" and casual conversation basis , they had never spent time together on their own and didn't know each other in a deeply personal way. G saw N as "Spec's good friend, N" and she saw him as "Spec's good friend, G".

When I went to Canada, they were both missing me - since we talk almost daily, see each other fairly often and, if either of them has something personal they need to discuss, they come to me (and vice versa). One day, in my absence, N called G to find out (in her words): "How he was managing without his best friend" ...

The rest is history. To cut a long (but rapid) and previously-unimagined-by-all-parties story short, they are now happily engaged! Within 5 weeks. They had struggled to keep their excitement and their news a secret from me while I was away. I found out on the night I returned, when they both came to pick me up from the airport.

To this day, in a way, the three of us still can't believe it. We keep marveling at the fact that had I not gone to Toronto and extended my stay, the two of them may never have come together as life partners. Everything happens for a reason and in its own perfect way and timing.

Why I'm mentioning this today (to use my nephew's phrase), I dunno. Maybe just to say that when it comes to the love of your life, you just dunno ... who, when, where and how.