Narwhal is My Spirit Animal

Original post January 17th, 2021

I first connected with the Narwhal in the movie Elf. The little guy that says "Goodbye Buddy!" "I hope you find your dad!". When that movie came out I'd not yet found my dad and as corny as that movie is, it's my all time favorite Christmas movie. It gave me hope for finding my dad and that it could have a happy ending.

Spirit connects to me through books. I first realized this in 2011. I'd heard about the book "The Secret" and it sounded really interesting. On a day off I was researching it on Amazon, reading reviews, and deciding if I wanted to drive to Mankato to buy it at Barnes and Noble or just order it online. I don't remember what my decision was but it doesn't matter. I went downstairs to do something, put away towels in the hall closet? I don't remember for sure but, what I do remember is that there was a box in the hallway and something sitting on it caught my attention. It was the book "The Secret"! I couldn't believe it! Here I was researching a book about the Law of Attraction and figuring out where I was going to buy it from and it appears in my house! It turns out it that my daughter's grandma had given it to her a while back and it was now mine to read :).

So, what does that story have to do with narwhals? I will get to that but first, I want to talk about The Wizard of Oz. One of my favorite movies as a child. The Wizard of Oz was on network TV once a year and I looked forward to it every year. I probably still have a TV Guide cover somewhere in my keepsakes with the movie poster on it advertising the date and time for the movie's showing that particular year. Oh, Dorothy! Living in Kansas and getting whisked off to a magical world by a tornado! So much symbolism that I realize now, facing fears and personal growth, but back then, for me, the movie simply made life feel magical.

Fast forward to 2017 when I actually located my dad and learned that he lived in Kansas. I thought back to my childhood and though how cool that would have been to be able to say that Dorothy was from Kansas and so is my dad…I later found out that he'd lived in Oregon for most of the time I was growing up; but that doesn't change my first thoughts and impression of connections.

Narwhals now? Yes! Now back to narwhals :). After finding my dad and the experience going so well (including the addition of four younger brothers and new sister-in-laws) I connected even more to the movie Elf and I loved that little narwhal! Funny thing was, I though narwhals were make believe. Well, one of my new sister-in-laws told me they were real!! And, she would know because she has a degree in biology or something like that and knows about water bears ;). I could not believe it! It was like she'd just told me unicorns were real! Just like my dad (until I found him) something else in my life that had been a myth or fantasy was real!

Note to the reader: You can actually take an all inclusive trip to the arctic to see narwhals- for about $13,000 per person. It's on my "when I win the lottery" bucket list.

Ok, let's tie this all together and bring it home now. This past December I saw that the Barnes & Noble book of the year is "World of Wonders" by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. The narwhal on the cover caught my attention. I was drawn to the book with a feeling that is unexplainable. If you've ever had that feeling of being drawn you know what I mean; you know the feeling. The book wasn't on sale so I didn't look into it right then but made note to look into finding it a cheaper price.

I continued to notice the book on the shelves at the B&N store in Mankato while Christmas shopping. "In good time" I told myself. I would look into it soon enough. In my head I assumed it was a book about different kinds of animals and stuff and, how practical would it be to have, anyway? I mean, how economical would it be if I bought everything with a narwhal on it just because I like narwhals?

Last week, on January 12th (a Tuesday), Jared and I had a dentist appointment in North Mankato. Jared has worked from home since March of 2020 because of COVID office rules. His office is in North Mankato. On our way home from the appointment he swung into the office quick to check his desk for anything he might need for work. I'd not mentioned the World of Wonders book to Jared or anyone else. When he came out of the building and got back into the car he had a few things in his hand that he set down on the center council. I casually asked him what he had and said said just a few things that people had left on his desk. I picked the top item up, an envelope with mail in it, to see what else was there. At that moment I think I might have scared Jared because as I realized what I was looking at I sucked in a huge breath and yelled "Oh my god!" "It's the Barnes & Noble book of the year!" "I've been wanting this; it has a narwhal in it!". "Who gave it to you?!" He said he didn't know; it had just been left on his desk. As I rode in the passenger seat on our way home I held that book in my hands and flipped through the pages . "There's the narwhal section!" I said excitedly out-loud to nobody. I didn't read it yet, though, at that point. I was too busy thanking spirit in my head for the gift of the book and recalling the time I'd come across The Secret and how incredible God and his ways are. THEN I OPENED IT BACK UP TO THE NARWHAL SECTION AND STARTED TO READ…Thinking it was a book that talked about the animals it highlighted I became confused because the words I was reading told the story of the author when she was a girl and her family moved to Kansas. And, at the time the only thing she knew about Kansas were the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy. At this point I could not read any more. I snapped the book shut as a tidal wave of emotion and recognition of all the meaningful little pieces coming together and connecting. As I sobbed and tried to explain to Jared what the heck was going on I said a thank you, in my head, to spirit and to my dad for validating that he is always with me. Thank you for the gift Pops! Miss you and love you!