The invisible hand of Providence?

Although I have been trying to find places for my son to wrestle while he is in California, I haven’t been enjoying much success. 

Until this afternoon…

Sometimes it is strange how things work out…

On a Friday morning a little over a year ago, I was laid off for the first time in my life from a job that I had excelled at for 11 years.

My old F150 was parked on the street in front of the main office. As I turned to make my final trip to get the last of my things, I looked at the entrance to the front office and thought that I should say goodbye to the receptionist.

Over the years, I had made a habit of calling to tell her that she was doing a great job, that they weren’t paying her enough, etc. either via a quick personal visit at the front desk or a quick phone call. She always had such a cheerful disposition and was very good at what she did. I made sure that she knew that someone appreciated her work. With that history, I felt that it would be wrong to leave without saying goodbye. So, I walked in through the front door like I had so many times before except that this would be the last time.

As I turned to leave, I noticed that the founder of the company was in the front conference room. That was unusual since he only visited 4-5 times per year. I didn’t know if it was the proper thing to do but as I had always enjoyed a warm relationship with him, I went in to say goodbye to him and a peer who was talking with him. He was visibly shocked when I informed him that this was my last day. I told him that it surprised me too.

I started looking for a new job on Monday morning. That afternoon, my phone rang. The founder wanted to hire me at the same salary on a short term basis for another company that he had an interest in.

I worked at that job for 6 short weeks (1/21/08 through 3/7/08). However, it was during that short six weeks that my son made the varsity wrestling team in Kansas, became the starter and qualified for the state tournament in his very first season. This was obviously VERY exciting and as you have probably gathered, I really like sharing a good story.

As I told the story to whoever would listen, it turned out that one of my co-workers coached high school wrestling on the side. He was really the first person that I “talked wrestling” with.

One of his wrestlers finished in the top 10 in California’s state tournament during the very same time that my son was making his big break through. This year, that kid, now a senior in high school, finished 51-1, losing in the semi-finals in overtime and finishing third in the state of California! Needless to say, my ex-co-worker is an EXCELLENT coach!

Guess who agreed to train my son for the four days he visits his grandparents?