>Coincidence? Or Something More?

>Someone once sent me a very nice e-mail asking if I made up most of the personal stories that I recount on my blogs.

“I don’t mean to call your writing into question,” it said, “because I’m very entertained, but I certainly hope you’re exaggerating, because I don’t think that many strange occurences could happen to one person and if they do, then I feel sorry for you!”

I’ve thought a lot about that e-mail ever since I got it. Part of me thinks it’s not so much that a greater-than-usual amount of weird stuff happens to me- it’s the fact that I actually notice the weird stuff when it happens.

I say this because often, I’ll be telling my husband about my day and only in the retelling of the story will I realize that that 400 lb man in the overalls behind me at the bank who spat on the floor and got some of his nasty mouth juices on my little toe in the process? THAT’S BLOGGABLE.

But if I hadn’t retold the story to my rapt audience of one, I might never have thought about it again. After running off to the bathroom and running my little toe under hot water for five minutes, I mean.

But part of me now believes that a greater-than-usual amount of weird stuff really does happen to me. The other day is a perfect example.

My friend, Chelsea was bringing her daughter and mine to my house after Vacation Bible School so that the girls could play together and Chelsea and I could hang out and have lunch. Chelsea lives an hour away from me now, so I don’t get to see her all that often- maybe a few times a year.

About 15 minutes before Chelsea arrived, I was getting lunch ready for everyone when the phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, so I let the machine get it. After our outgoing message played, I heard a woman’s voice.

“Chelsea?” she asked. “This is Joan, from church. I’ve been trying to e-mail you, but it keeps getting bounced back to me.” She rattled off Chelsea’s old e-mail address. “Could you give me a call at xxx-xxxx so that we can update our records?”

The woman was calling from the church that Chelsea and I used to attend. Both of us have been attending a new church now for quite a while- Chelsea much longer than me.

What are the odds that this woman would have my number listed as Chelsea’s number in her records? The church is huge, and has thousands of members.

And what are the chances that she would call 15 minutes before Chelsea arrived at my house? Chelsea hasn’t been to my house in almost a year!

When Chelsea arrived a few minutes later, I did the only thing I could do.

“You have a message,” I told her. And I played it back.

Yes, this was a very strange occurence, but truthfully, this sort of thing happens all the time. I used to assume that everyone had more than their share of coincidence and weird situations.

Now, though, I’m not so sure.

At least I’m documenting it.

This post originally appeared on Parents.com.