Here are a couple of stories of serendipity in my life.
A Real Estate Tale
I once had a house that I loved but it was quite old and in need of some rather expensive repairs. I did not have enough skills or confidence to DIY. I mean things like electrical wiring and a new roof? No I don't think so!
One Sunday morning, feeling a bit melancholy, I was pondering what to do. Spend a fortune on a house that may not be worth the money? Put it on the market knowing I would still have to spend some money on cosmetic changes? I said to the dog, "I wish someone would just tell me what to do. It's too hard!'
About an hour latter there was a knock at the door and a woman said, 'Hello. I was wondering if you would like to sell your house?' Well, der! Yes!
She had four teenage children and was running a business from home. The business was doing very well and she had five employees in her living room and was desperate for somewhere, close to her house, to move the business to and to send the oldest two children to sleep. We negotiated a price that suited us both and we settled in two weeks.
Another shivery example
I was teaching Grade 1 (6 year olds). A child in the grade was suddenly struck down with a fatal condition (the name of which eludes me but it was a result of having had measles before the age of one year). I won't go into details but his decline was rapid and the doctors predicted the end would be quick.
Anyway, I thought I thought it would be appropriate to do something to assist the children in the class understand what was happening. I read them, Charlotte's web, because she dies at the end and is very accepting of her fate. We did all sorts or things about life cycles - frogs, butterflies etc. I made sure to include death as a part of the cycle.
I asked the librarian for suitable books and she gave me one entitled, The Dead Bird. It was a picture story book and age appropriate. The children in the story find a dead bird. When they pick it up, it is still warm, but it has not heart beat so they take it home. They find a box for a coffin and have a little funeral for it. I read it and thought it wasn't quite appropriate yet and put it on my shelf.
The next day during recess when there was nobody in the room a bird flew in a door, up a corridor, chose my classroom (which was one of four close together) flew into the room and bashed itself to death on the window. When we came in it was laying right in the middle of the mat where the children were about to sit. After getting over my goose bumps, I fetched the book and we read it. We picked up the bird and it was still warm ......
