Roaming Towards Myself

I’ve had a few random encounters with strangers that stayed with me for very different reasons.
One was on the train from Teddington to Reigate, where the conductor had the whole carriage laughing. He was making hilarious announcements like, “From Redhill to Reigate, this will be the best four minutes of your life,” and warning people to mind the gap because if they lost an arm or a leg they’d cry, and that would make him sad. Passengers were even asking for selfies with him. It was one of those small moments that completely lifted everyone’s mood.
Another happened at soccer years ago when a woman I didn’t know came up to me and said she felt drawn to me because her young son was saying he was seeing ghosts, and she somehow felt I might be able to help. I do believe in that kind of thing, so it was unusual, but not strange to me. I was able to talk with her and help, and it’s always stayed with me because it was such an unexpected moment of trust from a complete stranger.
The third was on a cruise with my sons. We were sitting near another family at dinner, and as they were leaving, the dad came over to me and said he and his wife wanted to tell me how lovely it had been to watch my boys and listen to them talk. He said they were so well behaved, and that meant a lot to me. It was such a simple thing for them to say, but I never forgot it.
All three stayed with me for different reasons. One made me laugh, one felt strangely meaningful, and one touched me as a mother.