Our oldest daughter, Danielle is about to start her senior year in high school. She will actually only be taking two classes at her high school this year. She will take the rest of her classes at the local community college. Those courses will earn her both high school and college credits that will transfer to whatever college she chooses to attend next year. She is very excited about only spending two hours at the high school each day.
We started looking at colleges last spring. Dani was certain she wanted to stay within the Twin Cities. She wanted to be away from home, but not far away. She has known for several years that she wants to be an elementary school teacher. She loves kids and they love her. She's taught Sunday School and VBS at our church for several years. She also has loved working with kids on the mission trips she has gone on. Kids just naturally gravitate toward her.
This summer, we visited several schools in the Twin Cities. She also wanted to visit Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. It's roughly 90 minutes away from home. It surprised me that she wanted to even visit somewhere outside the Cities. Dani, Lauren and I visited GAC during MN Private College Week earlier this summer. I was astounded by the beauty of the campus. I was also amazed to see the look on Dani's face. I could tell she liked it a lot. She later told me that as we walked around campus, she knew there was something very different about this campus compared to the Twin Cities college campuses, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It finally hit her...it was quiet! No traffic buzzing by, no sirens or honking horns from the bustle of the city. She said it was like someone put a college on a hill in Caledonia (the small SE MN farming community where I grew up). Perhaps that comment should have been a clue that my mom was up to something in Heaven.
We decided that another trip to visit GAC was in order, and that Eric should go along since Dani was seriously considering this college. It made sense to schedule the trip before high school starts up again.
Then, last week while on facebook, I saw a post from a "friend" of mine, Jenni. It stated that she and her husband had just bought a house in St. Peter. I put the word friend in quotes, because I had never actually met Jenni. I became friends with her on facebook after my mom died. I had met her dad, Curt, at my dad's funeral.
Years earlier, Curt showed up at my parent's farm with several kids in tow, inquiring about hunting on my parent's land. My dad agreed to let them hunt and after that, Curt was basically one of the family. He and his kids would visit my parents whenever they would come to hunt.When we would visit my parents, I would inevitably hear stories about how nice Curt and his family were. My mom was especially fond of Curt's daughter, Jenni. She would always tell me "Jenni is such a nice little person." When I met Curt at my dad's funeral, I understood why my parents loved him. He was just a genuinely nice guy.
Curt also came to my mom's funeral. This time, he brought his wife, Deb, along. Curt told us that Jenni really wanted to come for my mom's funeral but she was pregnant with her second daughter at the time and having preterm labor issues, so was unable to travel. I then friended Jenni on facebook and we exchanged a few stories and memories of my parents. I hoped we would one day meet.
So last week, when I saw Jenni's facebook post about buying a house in St. Peter, I sent her a message saying that my parents must still be trying to get her and I to meet. I explained that Dani was interested in Gustavus and that if she chose to go there, Jenni would have a babysitter for her two girls. Imagine my surprise when Jenni messaged back that her husband, Colby is the head baker at Gustavus! She said to let her know when we planned to visit GAC again.
I know some people still are skeptical about my "red fox moments" as I call them, but like I've said before, when it happens to you, you just know. Not only did Jenni say her husband worked at Gustavus, but he is the head baker. My mom loved baking. She always had cookies and other baked treats on hand in case anyone stopped by to visit. And her dad (my grandpa) owned and ran the bakery in Caledonia when he was alive!
I messaged Jenni when we set up our Gustavus visit for today. I didn't think there was much chance of seeing her, but thought there was a slight chance of running into her husband. I mentioned it to Eric and Dani, but neither really said much, as they didn't know the connection.
The college visit was great, and I believe Gustavus is now at the top of Dani's list of potential colleges. We met with an Admission's Counselor, toured campus and met with the Teacher Education Coordinator of the Education Department. We were told that after that meeting, we would be given meal tickets to eat in the cafeteria. Again, I thought maybe we'd run into Jenni's husband. But Dani decided that she'd rather have lunch somewhere in the town of St. Peter.
The Admissions Office gave us a few suggestions of places to try. We drove by the suggested places and chose one: a bar and grill named Patrick's. We walked in and chose a table. When no waitress came by after a few minutes, we decided to move to a table in another room. As we walked into that room, I couldn't believe what I saw. There were Jenni and Colby sitting with another woman (Jenni's mom) at the first booth we walked by. I was walking behind Eric and grabbed his arm, to tell him who this was. Before I could even say the words, Jenni saw me and jumped up to hug me. We'd only seen each other's pictures on facebook, but knew each other instantly. She gave Eric a hug before he had any clue who she was!
Jenni invited us to have lunch with them. As we ate our burgers, she told stories about going to Caledonia to hunt with her dad. She said there were times that she would choose to spend a good part of the day visiting with my mom rather than hunting. Just talking with her, I understood why my mom loved her so much. She is kind and loving and funny. She told Dani that if she chooses to go to school at Gustavus that she will be her "mom away from Mom". Eric commented later that it would be more like "sister away from Mom" since Jenni is no where near as old as us.
As I reflect on the day, I think of how many things fell into place so that Jenni and I ended up meeting. If she hadn't posted about buying a house in St. Peter, I never would have messaged her about Gustavus, never would have know Colby was a baker there, never would have let her know we were visiting today. If we chose to eat on campus, or if a waitress had come to the first table we chose at Patrick's, we never would have met each other today.
While my dear mom said she "never did a lot" in her life, she sure pulled a few strings up in Heaven to get Jenni and I to meet today. Mother always said she was sneaky and my dad always said that God works in mysterious ways. I am certain they worked together in all that happened today. It was definitely a red fox day. When it happens to you, you just know.
It's too soon to know if Gustavus is where Dani will end up attending college. But I am confident God has a plan. And things will fall into place to happen according to His plan.
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