Some Call Them Coincidences

It awoke me from a sound sleep.  A loud crash.  Did I dream it or was it real?  I was quite sure it was real.  I listened and didn't hear any other noise so it wasn't someone breaking in (or if it was, they decided to leave).  I got out of my warm bed and headed downstairs to investigate.  As soon as I arrived in the living room, there it was.  The large picture above the fireplace was laying flat on the floor.  On it's way down, it took two photos and the anniversary clock I received on my 10th work anniversary.

Surprisingly, none of the glass in the frames or clock broke.  And Ed's memory candle, that sat just slightly to the left of the clock, sat safely on the mantel, untouched.

I'm not sure why the picture fell.  I had just rehung it after the holidays since we had a wreath in it's place for Christmas.  The nails in the wall are still intact as are the hangers on the back of the picture.

The two small picture frames will need to be replaced.  The clock suffered the most damage.  The glass cover over the face is bent and there are two pretty good marks on the wooden top where it clearly hit the stone hearth on the way to the floor.

I laughed as I picked things up off the floor and assessed the damage and the irony of that clock being damaged did not escape me.  You see, yesterday was my 32nd anniversary at work.  And the day went unnoticed by everyone except me.  Ed always recognized this day for me.  He was quite proud of me and my job and this anniversary never came and went without him acknowledging it in some small way (even if it was just his words of congratulations).  But not this year, or any future year, and that fact did not escape me last night when I arrived home from work.  Just another reminder.

Now, you know I'm always wanting a sign from Ed.  Was last night's event a sign?  I certainly find it ironic that the clock, that has been sitting safely on the mantel for 22 years, now has lifetime damage.  And I can't explain why the picture came crashing down.  There is no reasonable explanation.  If the nails or hangers came out, that would make sense.  So, I'll take this as my sign.  And why not?  It gives me comfort and doesn't harm anyone else.  Of course, he could have picked a more subtle sign to send me, but then again, I'm sometimes oblivious to small things.  There was no way I was missing this sign!

Yes, you can just say "the picture fell".  But I prefer my perspective...