Fate
I was listening to the radio on my way to buy groceries this afternoon, and the host said that something like 78% of Americans believe in fate and that quite a few have made an important life decision based on a fortune cookie or a coin toss. That got me thinking about things in my life that are more than just coincidence. I am a strong believer in fate, but I am also a believer in free will. Can the two go hand in hand? Absolutely. I won't get into that right now, but maybe someday I will.
19 years ago, I was in the summer melodrama. A summer job I loved immensely, and miss terribly. In the play, my character was engaged to the Hero. The play was roughly 45 minutes long, and we performed 2 nights a week. I wore an engagement ring for a total of an hour and a half a week. Not long at all. But it felt very, very odd to take it off every night. So odd, that I wanted to keep it on to keep away that strange feeling. I was told it was just me getting used to wearing it, but really? An hour and a half a week isn't enough to get used to it. It should have been the other way around, it should have felt odd putting it on. I felt it was something different. I told that person that I thought it meant that I was going to meet the person I was going to marry that summer. I was laughed at, but I knew it was true. On a Wednesday, that July, in walks this man into our hotel office with his parents and younger brother. There was an instant connection the moment I saw him. Love at first sight? Yes, absolutely. We had our first date that Friday, our first kiss Saturday, and when he left on Monday, I was absolutely beyond a doubt positive that I was going to marry him despite the fact that he lived in another state. We were engaged by December and married the following June. Fate? Intuition? Either one works for me.
Fast forward to May 2005. We were living in Colorado. My parents were up for a visit. We went to a Chinese restaurant. My fortune cookie said something along the lines of "something you thought impossible will happen to you" I kept it but didn't put much thought into it. A few days later, we go to a different Chinese restaurant. That fortune cookie said, "You will receive news within the next few days that will change your life forever." I kept that one too but didn't think much of it. My parents left and I go on with my life. Exactly 3 days later, I find out I'm pregnant, something I was told would likely never happen. Something I had decided was impossible and would never, ever happen to me. I had given up, I had told my parents that they would never be grandparents. I was ok with never having children. My husband was ok with never having children. But here, in my hands was a positive pregnancy test. I was literally speechless. And here was not one, but 2 fortune cookies attempting to prepare me for this. Coincidence? I don't think so. What is the likelihood of getting 2 fortune cookies virtually saying the same thing at two different restaurants several days apart? None in my opinion. Though I didn't make a life decision off those fortunes, they were attempting to prepare for a life-altering event. One that is now 12 1/2 years old and nearly as tall as me.
So there is my little snippet on fate.
19 years ago, I was in the summer melodrama. A summer job I loved immensely, and miss terribly. In the play, my character was engaged to the Hero. The play was roughly 45 minutes long, and we performed 2 nights a week. I wore an engagement ring for a total of an hour and a half a week. Not long at all. But it felt very, very odd to take it off every night. So odd, that I wanted to keep it on to keep away that strange feeling. I was told it was just me getting used to wearing it, but really? An hour and a half a week isn't enough to get used to it. It should have been the other way around, it should have felt odd putting it on. I felt it was something different. I told that person that I thought it meant that I was going to meet the person I was going to marry that summer. I was laughed at, but I knew it was true. On a Wednesday, that July, in walks this man into our hotel office with his parents and younger brother. There was an instant connection the moment I saw him. Love at first sight? Yes, absolutely. We had our first date that Friday, our first kiss Saturday, and when he left on Monday, I was absolutely beyond a doubt positive that I was going to marry him despite the fact that he lived in another state. We were engaged by December and married the following June. Fate? Intuition? Either one works for me.
Fast forward to May 2005. We were living in Colorado. My parents were up for a visit. We went to a Chinese restaurant. My fortune cookie said something along the lines of "something you thought impossible will happen to you" I kept it but didn't put much thought into it. A few days later, we go to a different Chinese restaurant. That fortune cookie said, "You will receive news within the next few days that will change your life forever." I kept that one too but didn't think much of it. My parents left and I go on with my life. Exactly 3 days later, I find out I'm pregnant, something I was told would likely never happen. Something I had decided was impossible and would never, ever happen to me. I had given up, I had told my parents that they would never be grandparents. I was ok with never having children. My husband was ok with never having children. But here, in my hands was a positive pregnancy test. I was literally speechless. And here was not one, but 2 fortune cookies attempting to prepare me for this. Coincidence? I don't think so. What is the likelihood of getting 2 fortune cookies virtually saying the same thing at two different restaurants several days apart? None in my opinion. Though I didn't make a life decision off those fortunes, they were attempting to prepare for a life-altering event. One that is now 12 1/2 years old and nearly as tall as me.
So there is my little snippet on fate.
Very cool. And a bit spooky.
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