Unexpected Interaction

On May 26th, 2023 in the morning I was at PDX waiting for my flight to Santa Barbara through Alaska. I was reading The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama while waiting to board. The section I was reading talked about how in today's society we are so focused on our phones and how we miss out little interactions with strangers we pass by. How sometimes these missed interactions could have been meaningful and offer a different perspective on life. Anyways, it was time to board and I didn't think too much about what I read. I sat next to this elderly lady, got settled in and pretty much fell asleep as we were lifting off. I woke up halfway naturally through the flight for the drink and snack. After getting my drink and snack, my seat partner asked me a question if I was okay because I was shaking my legs a lot. I told her that yeah I am and that it's just a bad habit of mine then we just continued talking for the rest of the flight up to until it was out turn to get off the plane. She complimented on my hair, said how she wished she had a daughter like me and how my parents are so lucky to have me. I found out that she used to live in Portland and moved to Santa Barbara a few years ago. We talked about a bunch of things and she gave me recommendations of things to do and eat in Santa Barbara. She was so sweet and I am happy that I got to talk to her even though I will never see her again. It was a very nice unexpected interaction and it made me reflect on what I read right before the flight. Was it a coincidence that this encounter happened right after reading that? I don't know. But I hope to have more of these type of interactions in the future.