Perfect Timing

'Perfect Timing'
By Guest Blogger: Nicole Caron

I'm not so sure about you, but sometimes I feel really alone. I know, you're thinking, "Alright, new girl ... are you aware that you're writing for The Brighter Side? The. BRIGHTER. Side. There's no room for starting out your very first sentence of your very first post on sounding like Debbie Downer, Nicole!"

If you give me a few more moments of your time to hear me out, I *promise* this ends on a Brighter Side.

I'm a stay-at-home mom to two kids and, like a lot of moms, while I try to carve out me time, sometimes in the busy weeks, that me time gets shelved and put off until the following week or longer. So sometimes, that leaves me feeling a lack of connection with anyone other than my kids. Sure, the hubby and I catch up at the end of the day, but usually it's about the kids. And sure, I work part-time in a book store, but let's be honest those 2 minute interactions with people as they pay for their product rarely fill my bucket (great book by the way!)

Needless to say, sometimes in those hectic times of life, despite being surrounded by people, I wind up feeling like I don't have my person. You know, someone who has your back, who you know is thinking of you and is encouraging you to be your best - looking out for you along the way. There are times when I'm in those moments that I give myself a metaphorical swift kick in the behind and tell myself to start looking - that maybe it's not that the person isn't there, but rather that I'm just blind to them. My eyes and heart are closed to receiving their goodness. As soon as I come to that realization, it's evident to me that my person, sometimes many people, have been there all along.

Other times, I'm not able to be so self-aware and instead find myself further in a rut. While those times can feel discouraging, often times they come with an even bigger reward. One that I never see coming, but that when it does generally blows my mind just a little. Like this week. I was trudging through my daily life feeling a wee bit uninspired and less jovial than my usual upbeat self. I was making what felt like my millionth trip to our local store where things cost about a dollar and my change from my purchase came to $16.72. I was handed the change and went to put it away when I noticed I'd been short changed me by 5 dollars. I pointed it out to to the cashier and she apologized. She'd already closed her till and so she had to grab a five from her co-workers till. When she handed it to me something on it caught my eye and all the little hairs on my body stood on end. Right there, on the front of the bill it read, "I {heart} you Nikki xxxxx". Now, I know I'm new here so let's get reacquainted. I'm Nicole, and I go by Nikki in many of my close circles. The fact that the bill had that message and my nickname spelled the same way as I do made me stop dead in my tracks.

I don't think I need to point out to you that I should NEVER have gotten that bill. A bill from a completely different till than the one that I was at and had I gotten my full change right off the bat, I would never have gotten it in return. It shouldn't have happened. But it did.


Here I had been, feeling more than a little bit sorry for myself for really no reason other than I wasn't feeling the love. And bam. Right in my face. There it was. THE love. And on a 5 dollar bill of all things. It was a moment, to be sure. Call it The Universe. Call it God. Or Coincidence. Maybe even The Secret. Whatever floats your boat, makes no difference to me. I know what I call it. The essence of it was my person. There, even when I didn't know it. Didn't think it was there. It was my hope. Filled my bucket. Gave me fresh eyes. To get unstuck. A sign. My sign. They are everywhere - we just need to recognize them and when we don't sometimes they'll slap us in the face just to wake us up and bring us back to centre. In perfect time.

By Nicole Caron

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