Karma

I've talked in the past about my opinion that there is a reason or explanation for everything. Today, the day of Linda's PET scan, something happened to me that I cannot explain. To understand it in context, I have to step back to just over 9 months ago.

A couple days before Linda's diagnosis, she was going about her usual pre-Christmas shop-a-thon. This day, she was at Target picking up some gifts for the kids. For one of his big 'Mommy & Daddy' presents, our son had asked for this huge Tri-Clops remote controlled car (it's pretty cool). If memory serves me correctly, it was about $100. She found one, threw it in the basket with the rest of the yuletide goodies and headed for the checkout. During checkout, one of the items rang up an error and because the error was on the screen, the next 5 or 6 items that were dragged over the scanner didn't register, including the Tri-Clops. Linda pointed out to the cashier that there was an error and after realizing her mistake, she pulled back the items that went through unscanned and rescanned them...except for the Tri-Clops. As Linda loaded the day's booty into back of the car, she thought to herself that the 'Total' was a little light. Sure enough, after checking her receipt, it became apparent that the cashier had missed the Tri-Clops. So here sat Linda in the Target parking lot with a choice. Go home with a 'free' Tri-Clops or return to the store to pay for it. Now before you cast stones, think of everytime your waiter has missed something off your bill (hey...he forgot to charge us for the coffee...cool). Did you bring it to their attention? Or when the shorts you bought at Walmart rang up at less than the advertised price. Did you point that out to the cashier? If you have, then you are a better person than I. Needless to say, Linda decided go home with a 'free' Tri-Clops. Several days later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Were the 2 events related? Who knows? We often joke to our friend, who is a pharmacist at Target, that Target gave us cancer. It has become neighborhood folklore. Over the past 9 months, all of our friends have told us of recently being in a similar situation, recalling that Target gave Linda cancer, and then deciding to do the 'right' thing. It's kind of funny, but it does get you thinking...is there such a thing. Do good things happen to good people (or visa versa)? Does what goes around, come around? Is there a universal balance of good and bad?

So what does that have to do with Linda's PET scan today? Everything!

Linda was done her scans by 1pm. I had planned to meet her for lunch but she was literally still radioactive from the isotope injections and barium smoothie she drank. We thought it prudent not to go out in public for lunch. Instead, we'd make some tacos at home. I stopped of at HEB to pick up some lettuce, tomatoes, taco mix and such as well as some potted mums (one of Linda's favorite flowers) for my Honey. At 2pm, the grocery store is pretty quiet so I was in and out. As I loaded everything into the car, I thought something's strange...that wasn't the right total. Lo and behold, the mums didn't ring up. It was an instant of clarity in a 9-month long haze. You've got to be kidding me? On Linda's PET scan day? Is this a test? I can't explain it and won't even try to. It just happened because it was meant to be, no reason needed. I'll let you figure out what I did with those mums.

Tomorrow will be a sunny day!