As He Used to Say, There is No Such Thing as a Coincidence

Spiritualism has been a significant part of my life. It seems when I am down, Spirit always knows to send me a sign of love and comfort. Ever since my son died, the Christmas season has always been melancholic for me — especially since his birthday is on January 8. But fortunately, and as always, my forever 20-year-old angel in heaven, Richie, made his presence known during this holiday season bringing me solace and peace.

To give you a back story, when my son was alive, he worked for Disney and was constantly singing, “♪♫♪ Chim Chim-in-ey, Chim Chim-in-ey Chim Chim Cher-ee ♫♪♫.” I once asked him why he sang that song. He responded, "It is constantly played at work. It's catchy." I agreed, it is catchy.

Well, back to a few weeks ago, while helping my youngest, Danny, pack his clothes for his move, I came across a shirt that belonged to Richie. He was getting rid of a lot of clothes, so when I came across Richie's shirt, I asked him, "What about this one?"

"I never wore that shirt. I was Richie's so I don't want to get rid of it. I can use it to sleep so I'll keep it," he responded.

“Okay, I’ll put it to wash and pack it along with your clothes,” I replied.

Fast forward to a couple of days later, while driving to Danny’s new home over 2,000 miles away, we stopped to get some shut-eye for the next 3 nights. For our last leg of the trip, Danny put on Richie’s shirt. I noticed but said nothing. Suddenly, while on the road, Danny began to sing, “♪♫♪ Chim Chim-in-ey, Chim Chim-in-ey Chim Chim Cher-ee ♫♪♫.”

It took me by surprise because I had never heard Danny sing that song, so I asked, “why are you singing that song?”

“I don’t know, it just came to me, why?” Danny responded.

But I knew what it meant. “Danny, you have Richie’s shirt on today, and he used to sing that song all the time. You know, that means he is here with us.” I told him. Danny agreed and it made us happy. It was a beautiful reminder that the Spirit never dies and that our loved ones are always with us. But it didn’t end there. It was a hard departure to leave my youngest son so far away from home. Therefore, I was feeling quite emotional, and Richie’s birthday was on January 8, so it didn’t make it any easier.

Back home on January 7, my husband and I were organizing the mess we left after digging out all of Danny’s stuff. Among many other things, I found a big container of old CDs. They had been in that container for years, with no use. Therefore, I dragged it to the garage and told my husband to dump it. As my husband dumped its contents into the trash bin, one of them fell to the floor. Once he finished dumping them, he picked up the one that fell. To his surprise, it was a DVD recording of Richie’s high school graduation.

There were over 100 CDs in that box, but only Richie’s DVD fell out. There was no doubt in our minds. Richie was here with us at that precise moment. Though I know he will always be with me, I needed that reaffirmation. I am thankful for those little gifts that for others might be a coincidence, but as my dear Richie used to say, there is no such thing as a coincidence.