Or
when something extraordinary happens, do you just chalk it up to
beating the odds? (For those of you who argue with me about math's
usefulness – here's another example ;-) Let me tell you what
happened last week, and you tell me: miracle or odds.
For
our 20th wedding anniversary last year, The Engineer
bought me a gorgeous, pink sapphire ring with diamond accents. OK,
that's not entirely true. He PAID for the ring which I picked out.
Ever
since he gave me a toaster oven for Christmas the first year we were
dating, I've picked out my own gifts and said, “Here honey, look
what you got me!” We joke about it. “How did you know that a
this would be perfect? You're such a good shopper!” I've worn it
everyday since.
Monday
was no ordinary day. I was finally starting to feel human again, the
boys were leaving for hunting on Wednesday, and I had to buy their
groceries, and get all the clothes washed so they could pack.
I
filled a cart over the brim at the grocery store. It was
meticulously packed. The checker, as he was filling bag after bag,
decided I needed two carts to get everything out to the car because
he wasn't a good packer. I got everything inside the house.
I put everything away, I packed the food for the trip. During this
outing, I'd used every reusable cloth grocery bag I own.
As
I was folding load of laundry number five, I needed lotion. As I was
putting it on, I noticed, to my horror, that the stone was missing
from my ring. I was despondent. What are the odds of finding
something of that size after all that my hands had done in the last
four hours? NOT VERY GOOD. Chances slim to none. It could be
hiding literally anywhere in the house, a bag, the store, the parking
lot...
I
don't give up easily though, so I called the store and asked them to
look out for it. I tore apart my bed, where I fold laundry. I
started to think about where I might have dinged my hand and realized
that shoving all the sandwich makings into the meat drawer might have
put some pressure on my hand. I took the drawer all apart. No
stone.
Next
I decided that why not go through all the cloth grocery bags that I'd
folded and put away after emptying them. I had to do something, and
might as well do a complete-able task. Most have that rubbery bottom
flap thingie to stabilize them. I took it out when possible, and ran
my hands under the ones that were attached. I came to a bag with no
bottom rubber thing, so I just shook it out.
“Tink,
tink, tink.”
Something
fell out of the bag. Pebble, probably. But I looked around on the
wood floor, and there was my pink heart. INCONCEIVABLE! I was
floored. I cried. I called the store back, and told the same nice
lady in customer service that I'd found it. “That's completely
amazing!” I agreed.
So
you tell me, miracle, or just beating the (almost impossible) odds?
I'm voting miracle.
Have
you ever lost, and then found something precious that you were
unlikely to ever see again? Do you believe in miracles? Do you buy
your own gifts because you're married to such a great shopper like I
am?
~Tina
