Chapter 42 - The Cardinal

I have to tell you a story in order to explain what happened today. I have decided to make a list of the coincidences that happen for the next week, so I can document how often they happen, and if I can, decipher where they come from.

As you know this spring was not an easy one for me. I spent a tremendous amount of time inside my head. My normal chores this spring became tedious disturbances to my time being pensive. But I had to do some work outside. I remember being outside doing things from rote, like raking the lawn, but my mind rarely was on the task at hand. It would take something significant to snap me back to reality. One such reality check came from an unlikely source. It was a cardinal.

It is not uncommon to have cardinals around in spring. They are building nests, mating and they are boisterous. I don't have great eyesight, especially outside, so often I miss seeing them, but I rarely miss hearing them - good hearing makes up for the poor eyesight. But cardinals are most often in tree tops or on high wires, they are not often seen on the ground.

But not my cardinal. I learned from my ex-father-in-law that if you call to a cardinal they will actually answer you back. I have done this often. This particular cardinal visited with me this spring and summer - often. Each time I was outside I could count on him making an appearance. He was keeping me company. Often, late in the evening I would sit outside on my deck, under my trees, and I would write, and invariable my cardinal would show up and sing to me.

One evening in particular I was writing to Rett and out of the corner of my eye I saw something fall out of the trees and land beside the pool. It fell so quickly it made me look up. At first I thought it was a dead leaf, but then it moved, closer to me. It was my cardinal. I sat quietly, not moving, and he kept coming closer, and closer, until I could see him clearly. It was as if he knew I couldn't see him before when he was perched in the trees serenading me. He stayed with me for several minutes, then off he flew. He repeated this nightly visit most of the summer.

I found this tiny visitor comforting for some reason. It was as if he knew I needed company - a distraction from my thoughts. It touched me and I decided to share my little bird-tale with Rett. Here is what I wrote...

"I am sitting on my deck in my backyard, working on my laptop and enjoying the cool breeze on this beautiful sunny day, waiting for the sun to set so that I can take a dip in the pool (I only like to swim when the air is cool and the water is warm), and my favourite visitor just popped by.

There is this cardinal who has been visiting me since early spring, and he will even answer when I call him…most times. He is beautiful, proud, confident, agile, and bright red. Often he will come by for a visit when I am working outside and just sit in a nearby limp and sing to me. Sometimes he will swoop down beside me and surprise me…never too close, but just close enough for me to get a glimpse of his beautiful plumage…then off he goes until our next encounter. I never know when, but I am confident he will always be back. He never fails to make me smile and brighten my day. I have decided to nickname him RJ, because he reminds me of you."

Rett loved my little story and said that things like that happen for a reason. He said the cardinal was there to console me.

RJ left me the end of August sometime, and I have never seen or heard him since. I wonder if he will be back next spring to keep me company?

Back to my coincidence of the day. This morning, I was working in my office and I heard a song from a music box. We are having a garage sale to raise money for charity and the items are being stored in the office just behind mine. The song playing on the music box was "I'd like to teach the world to sing".

On one of those Get to Know your friends questionnaires there was a question about "What would you do if you won a million dollars?" and Rett had said "I'd teach the world to sing". I sat there in my office and just smiled, another coincidence. A few minutes passed and then the song on the music box changed to "Lara's Theme" from the movie Dr. Zhivago, which has always been a favourite song of mine. Okay, now I have to go over and investigate.

Two woman are in the office surveying the items and one is holding the music box. Normally music boxes are...boxes, but not the one that I have been hearing. It is a cardinal, sitting on a tree branch. I bought it and brought it home.

Coincidences, ya gotta love 'em! Just roll with them.