Curiosity and Coincidence

co·in·ci·dence /koʊˈɪn sɪ dəns/ Pronunciation Key - [koh-in-si-duh ns

-noun

1. a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance: Our meeting in Venice was pure coincidence.

2. the condition or fact of coinciding.

3. an instance of this.

[Origin: 1595-1605; coincid(ent) + -ence ]

-Synonyms 1. accident, luck, fate.

Ever watch the TV series "Lost"? Then you'll understand how numbers and coincidences can seem strange and yet maybe have more meaning to them than most people would realize.

When I was growing up in New York, my phone number wasn't just ordinary to me. * When I was seventeen years old, it became even more special. My phone number and birth numbers were the same and in the same order. About a year after my Mother passed away, I tried to call that number, just out of curiosity to see if it was being reused. I was surprised by what I encountered. It was being reused, by another gal, named Tina. When I explained why I was calling, she almost cried as told her my name and the story about the phone number and my birth numbers. It seemed too unreal.

When my husband and I moved to New Hampshire, many years after we were married, we lived in an apartment until we were able to find a permanent home to buy. The number of our apartment was #144, Bob's new employer's address was #144, and our new license plate had #144 on it. I wish I had that luck when it came to picking numbers for the lottery. (Yes, I tried to play them a few times but never won.)

When we finally found the house that we would purchase and call our first home, I couldn't help but wonder if the coincidences that happened had a meaning behind them. The street that the home was on was called Nathaniel Drive. The brother I never knew was supposed to have the name of Nathan. Mom said she had thought about Nathaniel but shorten it. She never got to name him.

Other "coincidences" with our first home included the man that we purchased the home from. We were moving into his home and he was moving to the same town that Bob's parent's lived in New York, which included him shopping at the same store that his Mother worked at. Our next door neighbor and I had something in common too. I started a new job just previous to buying the house, the position I had at the company, was the same position that she had just left with that company.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) -

nu·mer·ol·o·gy /ˌnu məˈrɒl ə dʒi, ˌnyu-/ Pronunciation Key [noo-muh-rol-uh-jee, nyoo-]

-noun

the study of numbers, as the figures designating the year of one's birth, to determine their supposed influence on one's life, future, etc.

[Origin: 1910-15; < L numer(us) number + -o- + -logy ]

Mom was born: 4-2-22

Bob and I were married: 4-2-82

Mom died: 10-22-02

My birthday: 8-22 *

Looking at those numbers, you can think of a bunch of different ways to match them up. I often think of how they are supposed to influence my own life and future.

Those are just some of the "coincidences" in my life. Coincidences? Or are they something more? Maybe they have a deeper meaning. If so, hopefully it is something that I'll be able to recognize and learn from in order to make my life a little better. We all know that our life is only a small sum of the variations of the people and the world around us.

*Numbers not published for privacy protection.