A Message from the Universe

My husband and I took an evening stroll after dinner tonight. It was the first time we walked together since Lacey left us. It was a warm evening, and as we reached the end of the driveway I had a little lump in my throat. But he took my hand and we headed down the block. There were families out and garages open. In a community like ours, there's lots of activity just before sunset. As we reached the corner where we usually turned with Lacey, my husband asked me, "Where do you want to go?" We had always walked the same route with Lacey, but today I told him wherever he wanted to take me. So we kept walking, without turning the corner and we continued down the path to the clubhouse. As we rounded the back, we could hear kids at the playground. The sound of children playing and laughing is one of the best sounds there is. We turned around the back of the pool, and I smiled. There was a man with a dog. A caramely- cinnamonish- colored dog with a white bib. His ears were perky and his tail was wagging. "I'm sorry, he likes to lick," the man said apologetically. I pet the dog who relished in the attention and then he jumped up at my husband. "And he likes to jump too," the owner said sheepishly. We kept walking, and I looked up at my husband who was holding my hand. With the glimmer of almost tears in our eyes, we smiled at each other. The dog looked a lot like our Lacey.

My friends Helen and Annmarie told me this morning they didn't believe in coincidence. I told them I was pretty sure I did. And that's ok because as friends we accept our differences. But then Helen followed up by saying, "What I mean is that there are always messages from the universe- it isn't random." Tonight I know just what she means. I just know Lacey is living large, pain free, and frolicking as she wishes. This dog, one we've never seen, on a route we've never walked, was a message from the universe.

And we came full circle around the clubhouse, the pool, the basketball and tennis courts, and made our way back home. The cottony soft clouds were bunching together forming a shadowy shelf just above the setting sun. The crescent moon was high in the sky, and the neighborhood was settling. We stepped up to the door and I felt sad, but at peace, a week after saying goodbye.