mariakoropecky by Maria Koropecky, Storytelling Coach & Author
March 3rd, 2025 was the 24th anniversary of my father’s passing and this one hit me harder than they have in recent years.
At first I thought my emotions were reactions to political events – I was feeling attacked as both a Ukrainian and a Canadian – but there’s also something else going on.
I’ve been looking back to 2001 and oddly, 2025 seems similar. Most notably, a couple of days before my father died, we had a big earthquake, known as the “2001 Nisqually Earthquake” which occurred at 10:54:32 on February 28, 2001 and lasted nearly a minute and peaked at 6.8 Magnitude.
I remember when it hit. I was in my apartment on Stanley St and it sounded like a ghost train was barreling through my living room. Also, according to my brother who was sitting with my father in hospital at that moment, the earthquake woke my father up from a deep sleep.
Fast forward 24 years and on 3/3/25 at 5:02am, we had another earthquake (with very little activity in between). This time it measured around 4.4. To me, it sounded like a dump truck had backed up against my house and poured sand on the roof above me.
I wasn’t sound asleep. I was thinking about my father and the word “Benson” came to mind right before the rumbling. “Benson” was a TV show my father used to enjoy and I knew that my father was with me in that moment, sending me an obscure reference he knew I’d get and more importantly, telling me not to be afraid.
Maybe he was also trying to encourage me to tell my stories because also in 2001, I was trying to become an author and had even written a novel and was taking a screenwriting course but I couldn’t focus and ended up choosing a different path that wasn’t fulfilling. I gave into my doubts that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do and also let world events (9/11) scare and distract me from living my purpose and that cost me dearly.
On that note, the song of the day is “Little Earthquakes” by Tori Amos – The main lyric that stands out is: “These little earthquakes, here we go again.”
It’s like things and patterns come around full circle and if you missed your cue the first time, an opportunity just might swing back around again giving you another chance later on down the line, and this time, with all of your training under your belt, you just might be ready to ride the wave to a new beach. No looking back!
I’ve been on quite a journey and I’ve come a long way. I feel like these divinely timed earthquakes are bookends marking the opening and closing pages
of a huge tome.
Now it’s time to start living and writing a whole new book and that’s where I am today!
“Give me life, give me rain, give me myself again.”
This time I’m making a bold new choice – I’m choosing myself, my dreams of becoming a properly published author and my new future!
Who is with me?
