I wrote a story for The Morning News about bucket lists and what one friend termed “the struggle with banality.” That friend happens to be someone I dated for a few years, and he recently got married, and I ran into him on the day of his wedding, and he was wearing white loafers and seemed happy and nervous and we stood in the middle of the street, staring at each other like, “Oh my God, life is weird!”

Given that it was his wedding day, and that I was single and wearing yoga pants, I think I was supposed to be sad, or something — I have spent so many years being “sad, or something” — but I didn’t feel sad at all. Quite the opposite. It was the perfect example of a meeting I would never have put on a bucket list, but maybe I should have: Stumble across your ex on the day of his wedding. Be grateful for everything that brought you both to that point.