I flew home to Albuquerque on December 19 and returned home here in Xalapa on Friday, December 28. Since both flights—to and from—took a whole day, it was a whirlwind trip but warming because I was able to spend time with my mom, my kids, and my grandkids.

On the first leg of my return flight to Xalapa, between Albuquerque and Dallas/Ft. Worth, I met Muffet Foy Cuddy, my seatmate, who was on her way to Iowa as a volunteer to help NM Governor Bill Richardson in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Muffet is chief of programs in the NM Department of Transportation and a belly dancer by avocation who will be going to Egypt soon for further study. It was fun talking with her.

Then as I was waiting in the Mexico City airport for my flight to Veracruz, a woman came up to me and said something like, “We meet again.” I recognized her as my seatmate during my first flight from Mexico City to Veracruz back in August. Teresa—Doctora Teresa Morales Guzmán—a researcher in neurobiology, lives in Querétero and travels to Veracruz to visit her family several times a year.

If we believed in fate, we would surely think this second meeting was fated: After all, what are the odds of running into someone you know in a city of 23 million people? We met only because the airline rerouted my flight through Mexico City instead of Monterrey, as stated on my itinerary; and because Teresa chose the same flight after vacillating for several days over the date and time.

Teresa and I weren’t seatmates this time, but we were able to visit a bit before we had to board the plane. She told me that she has been reading my blog from time to time, so now, Teresa, if you read this entry, please let me know if I’ve gotten any of my information about you wrong here.