My Christmas Miracle

A Christmas miracle has occurred.

No, the miracle is not that our neighbors have managed to fit all of this into their yard because, in fact, they didn't. They've borrowed part of the neighbor's yard as well. At least they're in the Christmas spirit.

The miracle is also not that I successfully made it through three crazy busy work weeks as a result of my recent commitment to saying yes to everything. I don't think I can really count it as that much of a miracle if at some point I ended up at the dinner table like this.

No, the real Christmas miracle here is that I was asked out while running.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking- why am I so worked up over being asked out when I already have a perfectly good boyfriend. (More than good actually but I liked how that sentence sounded.) The truth is, I'm not actually excited about being asked out, I'm just over the moon that, after four years, a stranger in MN was actually friendly.

Normally on a run here, I say "hello", "hi" and/or "how are you" numerous times without a response. You'd think after four years of being ignored I'd give up, but I'm way too stubborn for that so I just keep on my merry way, day after day, hoping someone will talk to me. I do get the occasional head nod or quick response, but more often than not I return home completely rejected in my quest to make Minnesotans speak to strangers. On Sunday, however, my luck changed. I passed a guy on  my way down the trail. My quick "hi" got nothing, but my more insistent "how are you" at least got a response. It must've also made an impression because on my return home, when I encountered the same guy again, he asked if I'd like to have a post run beer.

In case you were wondering- no, I did not actually have a beer with a complete stranger. I do have a perfectly good boyfriend after all. Instead, I explained that I had to get home and had a good laugh with the guy when he said, "Hey, it was worth a shot."

Yes, yes it was. Being friendly is always worth a shot, even when you don't get the response you wanted, because someday you'll get it and it will make your day.

So- there you have it. My Christmas miracle. A friendly stranger after all these years. I guess I'll keep up my quest to keep Minnesota nice, even if I have to pass on the post-run beers.