There’s No Such Thing

September 13, 2015

I was sorting through paperwork today – some filing I’ve put off for a while now. I meant to do it yesterday, on Saturday afternoon, while I had some free time. But I got sidetracked, as I’m oft to do and set my sights on completion for Sunday.

I filed a number of bills and receipts away in my rolling file cart (I can tuck it away in my closet when done – out of sight, out of brain.) I had within this pile a folder I had tucked some receipts and miscellaneous paperwork….and an envelope with photos.

I took them out to remind myself what I had put in there for safe keeping. One picture was of me crossing the finish line of a half-marathon race during my “running years” (not an athlete by any stretch, but I was a bit of a gym rat at the time) as a reminder to myself what I can accomplish when I set my mind to something. Another photo was of my mom and her two sisters at my wedding – my mom has since passed away so any and all pics of her have strong value to me. The other pics were of me as a small child in a photo booth (a photo that makes me laugh), one of me in my bathing suit in Arizona (also taken during my running years, a bit of a vanity reminder to get back in shape) and a very random picture of a friends young son at a backyard BBQ many years prior, dressed in a bear costume, biting his long fabric tale. Don’t ask.

The last item in this envelope was a prayer card – one of those laminated memorial cards listing the name and date of someone’s passing. This particular card was of a friend of mine (ours), Kathleen M. McBride, that had passed away a couple of months shy of her 42nd birthday due to an illness. She was a beautiful woman – inside and out. Truly – one of those people you describe as the “salt of the earth” – one of the good ones. She and her husband were always kind, funny and genuine. They had two wonderful children who unfortunately lost their mother way, way before her time. It was a tragic loss for her friends and more importantly, for her family.

I flipped the card over and looked at the dates. She passed in July 2006. She was born on September 13th. I stopped. Today was September 13th. I hadn’t looked at this folder, nor the contents of that picture envelope in quite some time – it had been tucked away in this pile of Must Do’s for a bit. Coincidence? Some would say that. I never do. I don’t believe in coincidence – especially something as random as me pulling out this folder, this envelope, on this very day that marks her birthday. I had no idea her picture was in there.

I believe in the power of fate or kismet or serendipity or whatever you wish to label it – because it exists. I feel it. I was meant to come upon Kathleen’s picture today – to remember her, to be thankful and grateful for my time here, or maybe as a sign that I should get out there and get running again (she and her husband spurned my running passion). All I know is that this happened and it wasn’t an accident. The reasons why are irrelevant. This was not a coincidence.

I thank Kathleen for the reminder of her goodness, for the reminder that life and death are intimately linked, and the reminder that being open to what the world throws in my line of vision is something to stop and pay attention to. Thank you Kathleen, thank you.