Quirks of Fate and Mockery of Existence

Life is bursting at the seams with paradox and on any given day, each one of us is vulnerable to the mockery of life's big and small quirks of fate.

Here I share a few of those ironic flashes in time that happened to people I know; one tragic and the others just plain baffling, which simply left me wondering, in the end - is it really just part of the overall scheme of existence?

The Wedding Tragedy

A friend of my husband blissfully danced away with his bride at their reception on a brilliant autumn Saturday a few years back. The couple basked in the attention they received on their special day. They were on cloud nine and for them; the wedding marked an important milestone in their lives.

Toward the end of the reception, the groom and a couple of his groomsmen headed out onto the fire escape for some fresh air. The groom was extremely fit, physically, and caught up in the moment of wedding day energy for lack of a better rationalization; he decided to do a handstand on the fire escape.

The 30-year-old groom lost his balance and fell to the ground below. EMT's were unable to revive him and he died at his reception surrounded by family and friends on his wedding day. Forever, I pondered the heartbreaking irony of this, but I had to let it go...it was beyond my comprehension of life.

The Handicap Placard

I always joked with my amusing mother that she was the healthiest sick person I ever met. Despite breast cancer, which she beat, diabetes, a heart problem (eventually taken care of) and spinal stenosis, this woman never stopped for a moment.

The spinal stenosis was painful and triggered issues for my mom when it came to walking, but again, never stopped her from getting around independently. A friend suggested my mom apply for a handicap placard so she could park close to an entrance, which she was already doing illegally anyway.

My mom did the paperwork, filed all the necessary documentation with the Massachusetts government to get a placard, and waited for it to come in the mail. She waited and she waited and she waited some more; all the while it was getting harder and harder for her to walk any distance but with chin up, she carried on.

After all my mother courageously endured and overcame health-wise, she ended up with bone cancer and died just 28 days after diagnosis. The day after she died, I opened her mail and there was the handicap placard with her smiling photo on the front of it! I recall shedding a tear, saying aloud I was sorry to her and thinking how ironic life can be.

First Teaching Job

When my daughter finished college with a degree in Early Education and Sociology (double major required in Massachusetts), her dream was to teach at the elementary school she attended and did her student teaching at while in college, under the guidance of the very teachers who taught her years before. I, too, attended this school and we both always thought it would be neat if she were a teacher there.

My daughter, well respected by the mentoring teachers, received shining reviews from her superiors while completing her student teaching requirements. The veteran teachers at the elementary school were confident my daughter would be the new teacher to fill a vacancy in the upcoming school year, which began in late August.

Although my daughter felt assured, she would be hired at the local school, she did not want to put all her eggs in one basket, so as a precautionary measure, she also applied at another elementary school, but her heart was leaning heavily to her roots.

Every day my daughter waited for that phone call. She continued to waitress as she had done all through her high school and college years and into the third week of July, she was still waiting to hear from the school, but not a word came.

She was a little panicky by then because school would open in less than a month, so she phoned the Superintendent's office. No decision had been made yet, they informed her.

At the end of July, just as my daughter was heading out the door of her apartment one morning, the call finally came...but it was "the other school." The voice on the line said administration was excited about having her on board and they were very impressed with her.

Stressing how much the school needed her enthusiasm and leadership skills, they asked if she could come in that day to meet with them again. Though sad and a bit emotional, my daughter said, "I can be there in an hour."

The second meeting at the other school went very well and by the time my daughter was finished that day, she accepted the position. She felt a renewed sense of excitement about her first teaching job.

She decided it was time to look to the future and simply let go of the disappointment she felt about not teaching at the school she really wanted to be a part of as a teacher now. That is how she has always been.

My daughter raced home to call everyone to share her news. When she walked in the apartment, her answering machine was beeping. She clicked "play messages."

The only message on the machine was from the Superintendent's office of her former elementary school, saying they were very excited to inform her that the teaching job was hers and to please give them a call as soon as possible! Ironic or the natural scheme of existence...you make the call!

Note: My daughter stayed with her first choice and has been there nine years! She also stuck it out and earned her Masters a few years ago!