Coincidence or Serendipity?

 

Late in 2025, after my life had settled down a bit, and Wayfair had Black Friday sales on, I spent a couple of weeks switching out the furniture and art I had inherited with my condo for the things I like. Most of the things were in very good shape so the Mission Store saw a lot of me. One of the furniture items I ordered was a new Queen mattress, not because the one I was using was in bad shape, it was just too firm for me. I knew the Mission Store would not take a used mattress, so on that particular Thursday I arranged a Got Junk pick-up for the following Tuesday.

The new mattress was a bed in box and so I figured I’d better open it up and make sure nothing was wrong with it before giving the mattress I had away.  It takes 48-72 hours to inflate fully, so Friday I tackled the two-person job myself with a “strong like bull, smart life tractor” attitude; my back was not happy, you'd think I'd learn!

On Sunday I decided to make the mattress switch, so I removed the sheets and mattress protector from my inherited mattress and hauled it up to lean against the wall in the hall. It was a pristine Serta and in excellent shape; I hated the thought of first having to pay for it to be removed and second that it might end up as landfill. So, I decided to put it on Facebook Market Place and give it away. Four hours later I had one response from what seemed to be from a young woman. Usually, I choose to meet people in a public place but of course that was not possible in this case, so I thought I would lay the mattress on a sheet and drag it down to the lobby.  Well, the young lady wanted to see the mattress first, which of course made perfect sense.  I had checked out her profile on Facebook but knew that could be false as well. My instinct told me it was okay, and I gave her my address.  She responded right away, saying that she was just at Costco, a 3-minute drive away. So, 3 minutes later my intercom buzzed. I could see it was a young couple and I let them in.

I opened the door, and she took one look at the mattress and was so happy!  She explained that the young man was her brother, and that their parents were coming from India stay with them for a month in their two-bedroom apartment.  They had been trying to find an inexpensive mattress for them to use but even the cheap ones were very expensive to have just for a month. I was thrilled that I was helping these lovely young people! And then she looked at me and said, “I know you!”. I looked at her and wondered where I might know her from, so asked where she worked.  She said, “I’m a nurse and…”  And I finished her sentence “…you work at Providence Manor!” She nodded and asked the name of the resident I visited, and I said, “Well, I used to visit my Mom Rebecca…” and she finished my sentence, “Your Mom was Rebecca Hartman! We all loved your Mom so much! I was one of the nurses there when you made the decision to put her on palliative care.”  Because it was the first time I had stayed overnight with Mom I got to meet several new-to-me staff members.  But because they all wore masks, I really didn’t get to see them, but I did see they knew Mom and loved her too. I asked what her name was, and she said Para. I was filled with gratitude that life had brought us together, giving me an opportunity to thank this dedicated nurse for looking after my mom by giving her a comfortable mattress for her mom and dad to sleep on.

Coincidence or serendipity? What are the odds that the one and only person who answered my post turned out to be someone who had not only lovingly cared for Mom, but cared for me as Mom’s life was coming to an end? Could have been coincidence: two things occur at the same time seemingly without connection. Could have been serendipity: when something brings an unexpected benefit. If I was a scientist, I’m sure I could find all sorts of arguments against serendipity, but thankfully, I am a serendipitist: one who finds valuable, or agreeable things, not sought for. To me serendipity is wonderful gift that reminds me that we are all connected.

When I moved to Kingston 3 years ago, I donated all of my furniture to a charity in Port Hope that was furnishing homes for Ukraine refugees. When I decided to buy the condo I’m in now, I unknowingly decided to buy it before I knew it came fully furnished. What are odds of finding a place I loved, and it just happened to be fully furnished with furniture that I badly needed as my son was getting married in two weeks and I would be having 3 family members staying with me?? And was it simply by chance that I accidently got to meet the seller Anna who lives in Toronto but happened to stop at the condo building to see a friend? When I found out who she was I went up to her and told her how grateful I was for the much needed furniture. We got talking; Anna has a son-in-law from Ukraine.

I relive the joys I experienced during my serendipitous encounters every time I think of them. If our thoughts indeed create our reality, then I for one will always choose to see serendipity at work in my life. Believing in fairy tales might be counterintuitive but a little pixie dust now and again just makes life a little more interesting.