The Red Thread of Fate

The red thread of fate is the reason Love Gratitude Joy exists — and this is the story of how it found us.

Welcome to the very first edition of The Gratitude List.

We start here — with the story of how we found each other — because everything else that has happened in our lives flows from this. The healing. The food. This site. All of it traces back to one night in Chicago and a connection neither of us saw coming.

The Legend

Taylor Swift sings about it — an invisible string, her nod to the East Asian legend of the Red Thread of Fate. The legend, rooted in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditions, holds that an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. It may stretch. It may tangle. But it never breaks.

We didn’t know that’s what was happening to us. But looking back, it’s the only explanation that fits.

The Night We Met

We met in 2004 at a business cocktail party in Chicago. It was the kind of event I usually only attended when I was launching something — and I wasn’t. No agenda, no pitch, no real desire to be there. I almost didn’t go.

I was a year out of a ten-year relationship. A good man, but not the right one — we never had that soul-level knowing. I wasn’t looking for anything new. And Scott was going through a messy separation of his own. Romance was genuinely the last thing on either of our minds.

My business partner finally talked me into going. I was staying at the House of Blues that week for the trade show, and I’d actually crossed paths with Scott once already that day — a quick hello on the convention floor, nothing more. That night, my business partner spotted Scott’s table first and steered us over. I sat down planning to have one drink, maybe two, then slip out for a bubble bath and room service.

Instead, Scott and I talked for hours. Deep conversation, real laughter, that feeling that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Time didn’t slow down. It disappeared.

A Missed Connection That Was Always Meant to Be

Here’s what we found out later.

For six years before that night, we had both been attending the same annual party — hosted by my business partner. Same event. Same room. Same energy. Year after year.

Not once did we meet. Not even in passing.

We can laugh about it now. But the more honest reaction is wonder. Because maybe we needed those six years. Maybe we had to become the people we were before the thread could pull tight. Whatever the reason, we believe it was always there — stretching quietly across time, waiting for the moment to be right.

A Soul Connection

 It was an instant soul connection — a knowing. A feeling of already knowing each other, though we’d never met. The joy and spark between us was electric, spiritual even — something hard to describe unless you’ve experienced it. Because when you meet the one, it’s unmistakable.

It answered the question I didn’t even know I’d been carrying: How do you know when someone is the one?

If you don’t know — or if you have to ask — they probably aren’t.

And Scott… he’s such a good man. Kind, funny, and brilliant — the kind of person who can bring calm to chaos and make anyone feel seen. He’s a rock, steady and strong, even in the hardest moments. He’s diplomatic, generous, thoughtful, and deeply loving. He has this quick wit — always ready with a clever comeback or funny one-liner — and he knows the most random bits of trivia, the kind of facts that somehow always come in handy.

I admire the way he moves through the world with heart and integrity. Every single day, I’m grateful for him.

Transformation Through Crisis

Since that night, we’ve been through a lot together — the kind of hard that changes you. Scott’s health crisis was the most transformational stretch of our lives. It taught us what love actually requires, not just what it feels like. What it means to live in gratitude rather than talk about it. How to find joy in ordinary moments when the big ones feel too heavy to carry.

We’ve come to believe that many of life’s hardships are actually our greatest gifts — it just takes a perspective shift to recognize them. What once felt like devastation became our awakening.

Prepared for the Storm

Looking back, I’m grateful that I struggled with my weight for as long as I did. Because that struggle sent me deep into research — low-carb eating, healing through food, metabolic health — years before Scott’s diagnosis. I had spent countless hours reading, experimenting, learning what worked and what didn’t.

When we got the news, I didn’t feel powerless. I felt like I had been quietly preparing without knowing what I was preparing for. That wasn’t an accident. It was part of the thread.

Reflection

We begin The Gratitude List here — with the story of how we found each other — because gratitude starts somewhere specific. Not with a concept. With a person, a night, a thread that refused to break.

Anyone who knows us says the same thing: when they think of Scott, they think of Kristy and Scott. When they think of me, it’s always the two of us together. It’s not just our names. It’s a feeling.

We don’t take that lightly.

Quote to Carry With You

Today’s Gratitude Prompt

Take a quiet moment and reflect: Who is someone in your life that you were “meant” to meet — someone whose presence changed your path?

Write them a note of thanks today, even if you never send it. Just feel the gratitude flow.

With love and gratitude,
 Kristy and Scott (supervised, of course, by Jack 🐾)
 Love Gratitude Joy — it’s a lifestyle.

❤️ More You’ll Love

💌Love at the Center

💧 Dr. Emoto’s Legacy: The Frequency of Water

🎤Joy List Special: Ultimate All Day Playlist