Do you believe in miracles?

In the 80’s my dad migrated from Mexico to California. When he arrived here he began to learn English and he says he accidentally began reading the newspaper. He would read every page front and back and it became a morning ritual. I remember seeing him every morning with the newspaper and hewould hand my brother and I a section to read. We we’re always hoping for the comics and we usually got what we wanted.

My dad began reading the Dear Abby column and he would also have me read them. I quickly fell in love with the idea of writing a letter to a stranger about anything you wanted and she would respond. I like to imagine Dear Abby is a lot like Delilah, a radio host I’ve heard as a child who’s voice was always so soothing and her words always what the listeners needed to hear.

Dear Abby has different people writing to her and sharing different stories, asking questions or requesting help. One of her reoccurring segments was called Pennies From Heaven. I don’t know exactly where this phrase came from but dictionary.com says it

may have originated in 1936 in a song and motion picture by Bing Crosby. Although it’s been around for so long, I haven’t met anyone other than my dad that knows about this.

The idea is so simple and sweet.

When someone dies, they go up to heaven. They miss us and think of us just as much as we do them. Obviously they can’t come back to hug us and run errands with us but they can send us signs. These are pennies from heaven. If you are feeling down or thinking of your loved one, they may send you a penny to remind you they are also thinking of you. It sounds silly but can truly be comforting and all the people that wrote to Dear Abby would share their stories and it felt more and more real. There are readers who said when their loved one passed away they would put pennies in their coffin so they had pennies to throw back down.

This idea may not be true, but imagine if it is? If the person who passed is in heaven looking down and wanting to tell us something or give us a sign. They keep dropping pennies and we keep stepping on them. What a waste.

I am sure you see pennies lying around everywhere and it’s become so common most people don’t pick them up or even bother to notice them. After reading a couple stories on Dear Abby I started picking them up and checking the dates to see if it was anyone that I knew that might have passed that year or was born that year. After a couple years I stopped and we also stopped reading the news paper.
On Valentines Day, my husband’s cousin passed away at the age of 31. My husband was very close to him and has been mourning since. I told him about Pennies From Heaven today and I know Adrian (his cousin) heard me and will send pennies down to remind my husband he’s thinking of him also. I hope he’s made some friends since we didn’t put pennies in his coffin.

If you see a penny on the floor, pick it up and check the year. Find a meaning in that year and save the penny. Remember, “a penny saved, is a penny earned.” Benjamin Franklin