Birthday #1
Like most people, I had called upon God only in emergencies, like a long-shot crisis-management strategy. Later I learned, by experimentation, that the Universe loves to participate with us, and that we can ask for something just to delight us.
One regular ol’ Tuesday morning just before my birthday, I said to the Universe, “I’d like to have my mind blown today.” That is a modern prayer. I didn’t hog-tie God with any specifics, just,“Hey, would you please rock my world today.”
I got up and brushed my teeth, fished through the closet for something to wear. I drove my Toyota to my job where I worked as a reporter. At lunch, I called to make an appointment for an eye exam, since I had to get my driver’s license renewed for my birthday. Unfortunately, said the nice man who answered, they did not take my type of insurance. He could recommend someone who did.
“Yes, go ahead,” I said.
“Susan Mears,” he said.
“How do you spell that?” I asked, pretty sure I already knew the answer.
M-E-A-R-S.
Susan Mears, that was my big sister’s name. Interesting, but not mind-blowing. Of course I called and made an appointment. After looking at my forms, the receptionist casually mentioned that the doctor’s stepmother’s name was Connie – my name – and her husband’s name was Chuck, which was my father’s name. When I finally picked out the frames I liked, I noticed the brand name was Genevieve – my mother’s name.
What the? How could all those components come together the same day I asked to have my mind blown? I didn’t just create that with “wishful thinking.”
That combination is curious, certainly, but what are the odds that I would move within a 10-mile radius of this particular optometrist? What if the nice man had given another recommendation? Or none at all?
I’ve heard about the statistical odds of a monkey eventually typing a bonafide word if he just keeps fooling around. But what if the word he happened to type was your mother’s name? That’s not so random. What if two monkeys in the same room typed the same word “randomly?”
There you go. Happy Birthday.
To hear what happened the next year, click here.