not just another nugget

Many of you will think this post is crazy and if I'm totally honest I myself fall into that category. I've never really believed in signs. When someone says that "every time they see a rainbow they know their gramma is watching over them" or "when a certain song plays they can feel their deceased loved one with them" I've always thought they were a bit crazy or far reaching. I don't mean them any harm and would never judge but it just seemed so weird to me. When Gray passed away in May, though, butterflies took an a whole new meaning for me. The month Gray passed there seemed to be an abundance of butterflies everywhere we went! They were inhabiting the bush in front of our house and would cross our path almost every single time we went outside. It was a beautiful sight each time we saw a butterfly and would bring back a flood of wonderful memories. It has been over six months since Gray went to heaven and butterflies still hold a special place in my heart. I wear a piece of butterfly jewelry every day and the boys and I have put a flurry of flying butterfly decorations on the living room wall. It's a simple reminder of Gray and how he changed each of our lives. Last week, though, Gray showed up in our home in an unexpected way and made me rethink my position on signs. As I was cooking my boys some frozen chicken nuggets for dinner, I reached my hand into the bag of nuggets, pulled out a handful and when I dropped the nuggets onto the baking sheet and they tumbled across the surface I noticed a tiny bit of chicken nugget that made my stomach do a somersault. There, on the baking sheet, was the unmistakable shape of a butterfly! There's no denying it! Whether or not the butterfly held a special meaning in my heart THIS tiny crust of nugget would look like a butterfly. I stood there, at the stove, speechless for what felt like minutes. I was the only one home with the boys so I took a picture of this unique nugget and held onto it. Later that day I showed my heaven sent nugget to several people. They were all as shocked as I was. I still don't know if I believe in signs. Honestly, I believe Gray is in heaven looking wonderful, feeling wonderful and waiting for his family to join him. Does this butterfly shaped nugget mean Gray was sending me a sign? Reminding us of his life and that we should keep living? I still kind of doubt it. For all I know my chicken nugget butterfly is most probably a well timed coincidence. Whatever it is, though, it made me stop and think. Gray has been away from this earth for six months but we're still here. His life meant something greater than all of us and I don't want to forget that anytime soon. Every lesson that he taught me, every smile that he gave me and even every time he screamed at me to leave the room...I don't want to forget a single one of them. And if that means reading WAY too far into a misshapen chicken nugget than so be it. Sign? I don't know. But this tiny chicken nugget definitely made me pause, smile and even shed a tear.