Meant to be?

So, way back in July, I did some work for a textbook publisher. I get hired to do this periodically. It's interesting work, I can do it on my off-hours, and while it's not outrageously high pay, still, it's decent money. And it's money outside of my normal paycheck, so I treat it as "found" money - it doesn't get moved over into the regular budget; I allow myself to spend it on whatever I want.

Well, I never got the check from them for this bit of work. It was partly my fault; I had worked for them earlier in the calendar year and had assumed that since I had already filled out the tax paperwork for them once, I was good. (That turned out not to be the case). And then the original set of papers I faxed over to them (because, of course, the way my Adobe reader is configured, it won't allow me to save filled out forms and forward them via e-mail) got lost. So I faxed another.

And waited. And waited. And wondered what was going on. Hadn't heard of any textbook publishers filing for bankruptcy but began to get concerned. I said to myself, "If you don't have the check before the end of mid-fall break, you better call them and ask what's up." (I hate doing stuff like that; I hate being the squeaky wheel. But sometimes you have to).

I was thinking as I pulled in my drive yesterday afternoon: It would be really nice if the check were there in my mail. Because then I could cash it and spend it on my trip to Longview, and I wouldn't have to harass the publisher.

But I immediately discounted that thought.

But guess what was in my mailbox? I was very delighted to see the publisher's return address through the envelope window, and that particular shade of blue they use for their checks (I presume that's to prevent them from being copied.)

I tend to give too much symbolic weight to things that might mean nothing (but then again, I remember once hearing some theologian interviewed, and he remarked, "Sometimes 'coincidence' is God winking at you"), but it almost makes me feel as if this trip Friday is meant to go well.