Some client/friends of ours referred a close friend of theirs to us to build his website. Bill and I hit it off immediately, then strengthened the comfortable connection by confirming that we were both friends of Bill Wilson. Our first phone conversation lasted 45 minutes.

When Rog and I met Bill in person, it was another meaningful conversation, building a business as well as social relationship. The three of us work great as a team and even though it may be Bill and his wife Catherine’s business, we feel like we are part of it and their family.

Family… Rog is family along with an aunt, uncle, and cousin back in the Big Apple. Add a few close friends who are not local, and my family is pretty small. When I add in my OA family it’s bigger, and with 12 Step folks in general, it’s huge. I am blessed.

Family… Well, you see, while Bill is American, Catherine is French. With her family members living in France, a few years ago the couple decided to leave America, and settle on a farm in the south of France. Their homestead is the natural gathering place for Catherine’s family.

Bill has been in the States a lot during the last three years, handling financial and business matters so that he can truly transition to life as a Frenchman. Bill had plans to fly back to France today for a family reunion on Catherine’s side and then return to the States within the week. But being away so much from his beloved wife and children has taken its toll, and with business matters pretty much settled, now it has been decided that Bill will remain with his family, his home in France. Little did he know that the family reunion he was going to would turn out to be his own! I’m so happy for them all.

Some people we meet feel like family and it’s probably because in some past lifetime they were! I feel Bill is like a sib, and we both agree that it’s probably because we were family members in the past. I will miss his physical presence here, but thanks to email we’ll easily stay connected. Besides, we have his website to work on!

If it hadn’t been for us moving into web work, our friends contracting with us to design their sites, and then their referring Bill to us, we’d never have met Bill. With little time left to connect unbeknownst to us all, Bill and I connected over such a thing as websites.

Spirit can and will do anything to get people connected, and in this case it was just in the nick of time. It was no coincidence, but a carefully orchestrated plan to get family members reconnected. I am so grateful. Thank You, Spirit!

Bon voyage, Bill, and vous allez avec Dieu!