Choices..

When my husband and I moved into our second home, we were beyond surprised to discover that there was another couple, with the exact same names, just 1 block down on the same street!

How random is THAT? What are the odds? (google this) I mean, really? In all of the United States, there are sure to be several couples with the same configuration of names. "Patrick and Tracey Becker" isn't that unusual of a combination, but to find another couple, on the same street, in the same teeny tiny town in rural Illinois seemed to me to be somewhat remarkable.

When I received the first piece of the endless onslaught of understandably misdelivered mail for their phone service, I was at first confused at the bill for the obviously incorrect phone number. Once I put two and two together, I joyfully dialed up the other Tracy (she spelled her name without the "e" but I wasn't holding that against her) to share the news. Sadly, I only got as far as their answering machine. Still, it was a strange thrill to hear "This is Patrick and Tracy....please leave a message!" and have it NOT be MY voice (I'm easily amused.).

I left my message:

"Hello, Patrick and Tracy! My name is ALSO Tracey Becker and I just moved in down the street from you! Isn't that amazing?!? What are the odds, right? I couldn't believe it when I got your mail by mistake. Sorry that I opened it, but it DID have my name on it! Ha Ha HA! Annnnywhoooo... my number is 123-4567 and I'm available all the time as I'm an at home mom and don't have any friends in town yet! Talk to you soon!!"

I really WAS that chipper.

Strangely enough, they didn't call back...

Even after I called again; And left another supremely upbeat message...

I didn't understand. I mean, I GET that maybe I was a little annoying and she didn't want to be best friends. But, well, I HAD THEIR PHONE BILL!! I decided that maybe it was the machine's fault. I've had that happen before! In fact, I convinced myself that it wasn't ME, it was the MACHINE's malfunction that was blocking this obviously kismet relationship. I decided to take things into my own hands and deliver the mail myself.

After properly bathing, carefully applying make up and fixing my hair into a FANCY ponytail*, and with toddler and baby in tow, I jauntily strolled the 12 houses to the OTHER Tracy Becker's house.

I rang the bell. I smiled! A dog barked. And then... silence.

7 minutes later, I brilliantly came to the conclusion that this Tracy had a day job. Using a blue crayon from the diaper bag, I attempted to make my penmanship as elegant as possible as I scrawled across the back of their phone bill:

"Hi! This is the OTHER Tracey Becker from down the street! Here's my phone # in case we get each other's mail again. Isn't it interesting to have another couple with the same names on the same block? :) :) :)"

I did write the smiley faces.

We walked back home with less pep in our step but I was still convinced that I would soon be talking to and meeting my namesake.

I swear to God, they never once tried to contact us. Not. Once.

I am still baffled by this lack of curiosity. Wouldn't you call? Wouldn't you at least make a tiny effort to see another couple with the SAME names on the SAME block? We're not talking New York City here. This town had maybe 4,000 people TOTAL. Surrounded by nothing but corn and bean fields for miles and miles around. I understand that small town folk have different mind sets. I even understand that they have a different speed of doing anything (and EVERYthing). But we lived in that town for 9 months before we realized that we are NOT small town folk and they never once contacted us!

Sometimes it's the choices we don't make that affect our lives the most. That poor couple doesn't even know how wonderful their lives would have been had they returned our messages. We are AWESOME and would have brought nothing but joy to their lives!

But perhaps Life was watching out for me? I mean, we did continue to get their mail once we moved from Small Town Illinois and not all of the mail was what you would call "happy mail" from bill companies. Perhaps that Pat and Tracy weren't in a place in their lives where they could invite another couple of friends into their circle? Maybe she saw me outside with the kids and said "Oh HELL no!" because I am so fabulously awesome and beautiful? Or maybe she saw me outside with the kids and said "Oh HELL no!" because I was letting my toddler play in the mud? Whatever the case may be, they didn't enter our lives other than through our mailboxes and we survived intact, though a little mystified...