When I heard it was the Chinese Year of the Pig, I said to myself, “of course it is…” And, I’ll tell you why…
When I was living in an apartment in Long Beach, I had purchased a small fake pig made out of wood and placed it in my living room by my sofa. It looked so cute there. It was my little “pet.”
One day, my sister, Lori, came over and said, “what is that?” She picked up my pig. I explained that I had bought it and thought it was cute. “I like it, can I have it?” she asked.
“No,” I said definitively.
The next day, the pig was no where to be found. I looked everywhere for it. Could she have taken it?
About a month later, my husband, Brian, and I were at Lori’s home in Plainview. She was married to her second husband, Eric, at the time. In the corner of my eye, I spotted the pig. I looked at Brian. He gave me a wink.
I didn’t say anything to Lori. We left and I noticed Brian’s coat was bulky. I didn’t say anything and the next thing I knew we were sitting in the car and the pig from my living room was back in my home.
This went on a couple more times before Lori and I gave up. The pig was set in my living room and wasn’t going anywhere.
After that, for every birthday for years to follow, we would buy each other pigs. That was our secret joke. People used to say to me, “do you like pigs?” And I would say “not really.” But, I would have a whole collection that was given to me by my sister. (She had a whole collection too.)
As you know, last May, she unexpectedly passed from something that could have been prevented had the doctors and the emergency room in Plainview been more diligent. In any event, I no longer have my sister. And, before we moved, I gave away all of my “pigs.” So, I no longer have any pigs to remind me of her.
So, when I found out it was the Year of the Pig, I knew it was a sign from her smiling down at me.
