Things Happen for a Reason

Things Happen for a  Reason

by Kathleen Ann Gallagher

 New Hampshire is a beautiful, scenic place. My husband and I have been visiting the area for years. The backdrop of the snow-covered summit of Mount Washington is majestic, yet it offers peace and serenity to the many tourists who visit each year. The foliage in the fall is a spectacular array of colors, and our favorite time of year to pack the dogs in the RV and take off.

First and foremost, I always base my stories on the concept that things happen for a reason. People are placed in our lives to teach us something, add something we need at the time, take us on a romantic journey, or remind us how special we all are. I find it interesting to explore the elements of how our lives are intertwined.

My father was a professional magician, and I am drawn to the magic in our everyday lives. If you are open to it, you’d be surprised how strange and wonderful things unfold.  Growing up in a house where doves chirped in the evening, silk scarves were the vehicle for a beautiful white bird to appear, coins appeared and disappeared before my eyes, and ladies floated in mid-air, made my imagination soar. Possibilities were endless. To make an audience smile, laugh and escape to the wonderful world of magic was my father’s goal.

It is the same for me. I add elements of magic to my stories.  If I make one person sit back and wonder if magic truly exists, I’ve done my job. We all need to travel to a place where our wildest dreams can come true.

I’ll share a quick story. I’m a registered nurse, and one day while waiting to go in for my three to eleven shift, I sat in my living room listening to the radio.  A song reminded me of my father. He never got to see me graduate from nursing school, since I went back to school later in life. I wished he had been able to share in my accomplishments. It would have been great to see his expression when I published my first novel. My mother suffered from dementia and she lived me with. She was doing well and enjoying attending a day program. A photo of him in his tuxedo doing a magic trick sat on a nearby end table. I picked it up and cried, wishing he could see how well we were doing.

When I arrived at the hospital for my shift, I made my way to the staff lounge, passing a woman sitting in the doorway of a patient’s room. She looked at me and then called me over to ask me where I was from. I was shocked by what happened next. I told her my name and where I grew up, when to my surprise, the elderly man in the bed sat up. He proudly informed me my father was his Godfather and he remembered him well.  I knew at that moment, my father knew how well things were going for the family. I left the room amazed, yet thrilled to experience something so magical. It had been over twenty years since my father had passed away. Why did I run into this man on the same day I yearned to share my good fortune with my dad? Was it fate or did he magically speak to me through the man in the bed? I suppose I can only wonder. It did make my day a little brighter.

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Kathleen will be back tomorrow to share a few excerpts from  Night Magic.

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And now, for another “snippet”…

“I’m crazy about you just the way you are.”

 

• Posted in: Feature Post ♦ Guest Author
• Tagged: Childhood, Everything Happens for a Reason, Father, Godfather, Kathleen Ann Gallagher, Magic, Memories, Mount Washington, Night Magic, Personal experience, Reasons