Do you believe in fate?

There have been far too many 'coincidences' going on around here for me not to believe in fate at the moment.

I'll share the last couple with you.  Paul had lent Jon his electric drill as he wanted to put up some shelves and a new bathroom cabinet and why buy your own drill when you can borrow Dad's?  With the revamp of our spare bedroom, Paul needed it back (we also find that if you don't reclaim things you lend out to sons and daughters, you rarely ever get them back!) so Jon offered to pop it in on Sunday afternoon.  It seemed silly to come over here just to return the drill so I offered Sunday lunch as well - any excuse to have extra time with baby Max!  They decided that as they were here, they would go and visit Paul's mum and on the way there, bumped into Rachel and her family who had decided to include a visit with a Sunday afternoon walk.

On Tuesday, Jon rang to say they had childcare dilemmas on Thursday; Sophie had to go into London for a meeting in advance of her returning to work.  Her mum couldn't look after Max as she is a nanny and the other child she looks after on a Thursday had dreadful conjunctivitis.  He was working from home that day but had a dentist apt where we live in the afternoon.  So we agreed that he would work from home here while I looked after Max.

On Thursday morning we had a call after breakfast from the care home to say that Paul's mum had passed away in her sleep about 5am.  I called Rachel in the hope I could contact her before she arrived at work and she was just about to go and visit Alma before work as she just had a feeling that she should go.  So I was able to stop her from arriving there and being told the news by the care home staff.  She came straight round here, and five minutes later Jon arrived.  

So while it is sad that she is gone, she had declined so much in the last week and no one wanted her to suffer.  To pass in her sleep, at 93 really was the best thing for her.  In the last couple of days she had mostly slept and woke after vivid dreams of family members who had died years before so I am hoping that as she closed her eyes for the last time, they were all waiting for her in that final dream.

Coincidence that all grandchildren and great grandchildren got to visit her on Sunday - which was the last day that she was fully awake and aware of who people were?  Coincidence that both our children were here yesterday to comfort and support Paul?  Life has a strange way of working out sometimes doesn't it?