Last Friday I was sitting in the chair of my favorite psychiatrist – Esther, my hairdresser for 25 plus years.

For some reason we started talking about a mutual friend, Marilyn.  Marilyn died eight years ago from Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Now you might think our conversation was depressing but Esther and I were having wonderful time remembering Marilyn.

We talked about her quirky sense of humor.  Our conversation honored that humor because Marilyn kept it in the face of many challenges during her too short life – ending a marriage, entering into a same sex relationship and finally Lou Gehrig’s disease.

We also talked about her compassion and how she had the ability to make anyone she talked to feel that they had a special place in her life.

I met Marilyn because we both had children in Haddonfield schools.  After the children grew up, my son Andrew and Marilyn’s son Mike stayed friends.

Andrew went away to school for a few years and then boomeranged home.  That first Thanksgiving home, he beat feet right to Marilyn’s home.  A few months later, Andrew overdosed.  He survived but is now a quadriplegic and has massive brain damage.

Some time after Andrew’s overdose,  I was going through his possessions and came upon a paper Indian headdress.  He had saved it from that Thanksgiving visit with the Marilyn’s family.

Time passed and I ran into Marilyn.  I told her about her son Mike calling Andrew faithfully for months after the overdose to offer support for his recovery.  Then I mentioned finding the Indian headdress.  Marilyn gave me a big smile and said that at her family’s Thanksgiving  you were either a Pilgrim or an Indian.  And if you were an Indian, it meant you were family.

Not an easy woman to forget, right?

The next day after my conversation with Esther was a glorious fall Saturday.  I had the privilege of spending the day with my grandson, Lucas.

Lucas’s favorite place in Haddonfield is the playground behind the Presbyterian Church.  While at the playground he became the temporary best friend of a beautiful blond little guy.

They played happily for most of an hour under the supervision of the little boy’s Mom.  When she was leaving she kindly made a point of telling me how much she had enjoyed Lucas.  She said he looked so familiar and asked about his parents.  When I told her his last name, she introduced herself as Pilar.

Again, another name from the past.  I knew Pilar’s mom from PTA and Pilar and Kelly also went to Haddonfield schools  with my children.

Well by now you must be wondering what all this has to do with synchronicity.  The last time I saw Pilar was when she spoke so touchingly at Marilyn’s funeral.

I haven’t figured out why this synchronastic event happened to me but I’m glad it did.

“I learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelu

Have a great weekend.

Bernadette