Signs from my mom

My mom passed away on April 22, 2008. I've had a few signs from her since her passing.

1 - Two days after her passing I took home her canvas bag that was full of her poetry. Not only did she have her poetry in it but also stories she had written about her life, mostly of when she was younger. My siblings and I knew she wrote poetry but we were not aware of any stories she had written. A couple of hours before I found the stories I was thinking to myself "did I ask her everything I wanted to about her childhood?"

2 - My mom had told me prior to her lung cancer diagnosis that when her time came she did not want an open casket. I said, "well if you pass before me I want you to send me bobby pins so I know you're watching over me." The day of her service I put a bobby pin in her casket with her and told her "you know what you're suppose to do with this." I've had 2 bobby pins come to me since her passing. One fell out of her recliner as we were moving it out of her apartment, the other was in a change purse. I opened the change purse and it wasn't there then about 30 seconds later my sister opened it and it was.

3 - One of my mom's favorite songs was Life is Just a bowl of Cherries. I did not even know about this song until her illness, never even heard of it. But she kept repeating the lyrics to me during her illness. One of the lyrics she repeated was "the sweet things in life to you were just loaned, so how can you lose what you never owned." My daughter came home last night from work, she's a waitress, and said to me, "Mom, look what this nice couple who always comes into the restaurant gave me" It was a graduation card, she'll be graduating high school this year, and inside it the lady gave my daughter a cross-stitch bookmark that said LIFE IS JUST A BOWL OF CHERRIES. I couldn't even believe it. I've been so comforted since her passing by all these signs I've been receiving.

Keep watching for signs from your loved ones!!

Hugs to everyone,
Carol

By Angie-in-SC
Posted May 3, 2008 at 12:25 pm
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Yellow butterflies have been following me on and off since Mama's passing, also on April 22, but 2007. Yesterday, when setting up our tent for Relay For Life, one continuously flew around my husband as if she were "helping." I know she was there.
with a hug back, Angie

By WendyG
Posted May 3, 2008 at 12:51 pm
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Hi Carole-

That is fantastic...unbelievably fantastic. I do believe they come back and let us know they are still with us.

My dad passed in '91 of this disease. I had purchased a car about a month before his passing..also in April..so he had never had been in the car. About four month's after he had passed, after golf and dinner I was riding home, stopped at a stoplight and it happened, the car was literally filled with the scent of Old Spice, his cologne. I was stunned and to be quite frank..a little scared. Then I just said out loud "thank you dad, I know your watching over me and I will be careful on this drive home, thank you so much for this visit". There was only one explanation and I cried when I got home.

Wendy

By Pamela
Posted May 3, 2008 at 1:25 pm
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After my father's funeral, Mom's house was filled with the fragrance of the floral arrangements. A year later, while recovering from my lobectomy, I would smell this same fragrance for a second or two several times a day. At first it scared me too. Eventually I decided it must be a sign he was watching over me. I miss it now that it's stopped.

By arlene
Posted May 3, 2008 at 1:43 pm
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Carol- I just love reading these stories. I hope people who have had signs from loved ones will continue to tell them. My mom and I used to love to collect sea shells from the edge of the shore. We used to tease each other over who got the best shells. We even did this as adults. There is a shell called a bonnet that is very difficult to find whole. Usually it is either cracked or broken on top. I had one in my collection and my mother had two- very rare and hard to find. My mom died in 1992. When my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer last april of 2007, crying, I walked along the beach and prayed to my mother for insight. I looked down in the sand and there I saw, not one, but two- can you believe two!!! perfectly formed bonnet shells together. They were clean, not sandy, and looked as though they had literally been placed on the sand. I don't know what my mother was trying to tell me but I do know that she cares enough to show me. I hope people share their signs. Thanks for yours carol... arlene

By mareluna
Posted May 3, 2008 at 7:36 pm
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About 10 days ago I locked myself out of my condo. I had my dog with me. I tried 3 times to open the door and it would not budge. I said, "I need help. If I can't get in I'll have to call Dan's mom to come and bring me the key." I tried for the 4th time and the door opened! I thanked Dan. I buried him 3 weeks ago yesterday.

By Jolene
Posted May 4, 2008 at 9:43 am
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It took time for me to "listen and see" signs from others who have past. Our family and friends have had many. Here are just a few. It is not a "mental thing" it is God's loving grace which allows them to come to us; to give comfort and continue teaching.

Doing family history for two years I had three things that stunned me. The brief smell of cherry tobacco and instantly thinking of my Uncle Dean (he smoked a pipe),the smell of strong floral perfume (no clue) and the smell of a musty barn (researching Great Grandpa).
A cousin and her husband were researching a cemetery where our Great Great Grandfather was to have been buried. It was in IL and pouring rain the one day and they gave up to return the next on their tight schedule. In misty rain, her husband spotted a brilliant blue butterfly flying in the mist. Both were shocked it could fly and they decided to cam cord it for their little grandchildren. As they followed it, she kept looking for the stone that was our family line. Her husband yelled, "Shirley, it has landed and you have got to see this." The stone....was Great Great Grandpa. I was so excited, I said, "what did you do when you realized that?" Her response, "I wrapped both arms around this small upright stone and said, "Oh thank you Grandpa, I have been searching for you for a long time." COOL!

My dad was an avid bird and wildlife watcher. The day he was buried, the minister pointed above the tent and there was a red tailed hawk flying in a circle. She pointed and said, "would you look at that." Since then, the number of times our family members have had red tailed hawks fly beside their cars on the highway is shocking. I cared for my dad for 3 months. After he died, there were 11 times I felt that something was lightly moving the blankets before I would get up. As someone else said...it scared me at first. My thoughts immediately went to my dad. I haven't had that happen now for months, until last Wed. It really doesn't matter to me if people believe this or not, but, it is as true as the risen Lord.

I awoke to what I thought was my husband sitting on the side of the bed. I felt it twice and realized he wasn't there. Never thought much about it, but mentioned it to our daughter who is also a nurse. She said she had a dream the night before that seemed so vivid and dad was in it and what was weird is our two dogs were walking with him in a store she had never seen before. She said it was so out of context. Wed. night our beloved dog Ben died of a massive heart attack at the age of 13. It gave us all pause to think.

A dear friend lost her 21 yr old son 10 yrs ago in an auto accident. White feathers have appeared to their entire family and to ours. Clint loved bird feathers and saved them in a shoe box. Here are a few signs he has sent his family and friends: white feather that floated gently down from the sky as we were looking at the mountains, his sister who was planning her wedding and was trying to think of how they could include him in the service, when sitting outside under an umbrella table, a small white feather floated down and landed on her planner. Her now husband said, "I think we just got our answer and they all wore small white feathers."
His mother cleaned her car from top to bottom recently as she tried to busy herself on a very difficult day. She went into the house to get her purse and when she returned found a tiny white feather on the black leather seat of her car.

I honestly feel that many do not see the signs that are often given due to our upbringing and this was not acceptable with our religious teachings. Some will think we are mentally unstable or a grief stricken. It
is important to listen to your heart and your mind when something makes you think of them. It is hard to understand and difficult to grasp, but I have heard too many others who are honest, decent Christians, to think otherwise. God Bless...Jolene

By gpawelski
Posted May 4, 2008 at 12:48 pm
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Whether one personally believes it or not, when we think of making contact with our passed on loved-ones, we first must approach it with the awareness that the world they are in is not limited to an area in the clouds out of our reach. Rather, our loved-one is up, down, around and through us, they are intermingled within our own world.

Many times we may think our thoughts are our own, but more often than not, they emanate from our passed on loved-ones. Your loved-one is there with you, they'll help you to understand. Give them time to learn to communicate with you. Their spiritual task is to watch over us and assist us, and are always ready to lend us a hand.

By Angie-in-SC
Posted May 4, 2008 at 2:44 pm
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Thank you all for this discussion. It truly means so much to me. This morning while backing out to go to church, two yellow butterflies were flying in circles at the end of the drive.
I know Mama is with me. Thank you all for sharing.

By rmwmills
Posted May 4, 2008 at 10:48 pm
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Two days after Larry's funeral, my daughter-in-law and I met at a cafe for lunch. One of the first songs we heard after we were seated was "Anyway" by Martina McBride which was one of the songs played during his picture slide show before the funeral. Also, his new watch that I had given him for Christmas stopped on the day he hed died - about 30 minutes after he had passed.

Not sure what to think of these, but both were a little unsettling at the time...

Rosemary

By jennymac
Posted May 5, 2008 at 1:56 pm
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I've had many signs too. The day before my dad died, I saw two huge black birds on the side of the road as I drove to his house. Somehow, I took that to be an ominous sign.

Since dad died, the birds have become a more positive sign - when I see them, I think of him. As the limo was driving into the cemetary the day we buried him, the limo had to stop to let a mother bird and her babies walk across the path. About a week after he died, I was in the drive through at KFC and there were two ducks just sitting there next to the sign - it made me laugh. A few weeks ago, two geese were standing next to my father's grave when I pulled up.

The funniest - and OH SO inappropraite (I apologize in advance!) - sign was the night of my father's burial. It was late at night and I was watching MSNBC news - both dad and I love news and politics. The reporter announced that "President Bush got a sign from heaven today in the rose garden" and I looked up to see a bird poop on the President's shoulder. The reporter was lauging and said that "apparently someone up there isn't a fan." I was laughing so hard I was crying. The ultimate signal from my dad. He was not a George Bush fan.

I posted before about my nephew seeing my father, "flying in the sky like a birdie and he isn't even sick anymore." Check out the "from the mouths of babes" post.

Jen

By Jolene
Posted May 5, 2008 at 2:40 pm
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Loved reading these stories. Some might say we are "creating" them to mean something, but having been a nurse for 25 years, I have heard and seen too much not to believe. Sometimes we must stop to notice. When you talk of butterflies, I read a book several years ago where the mother wrote of the passing of her teenage daughter. It was a big white butterfly that landed on her casket at the cemetery and stayed until they started to leave and then it flew away. Heavenly intervention. Jolene

By amymaura
Posted May 5, 2008 at 3:21 pm
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I haven't ever experienced a sign as vivid as the ones everyone is writing about in "awake" life but during the first year or so after my mom died, she made a few appearances in dreams. These dreams comforted me, because I did feel like somehow she was still present and making that known.

She was a landscape designer, and my dad still lives in the house I grew up in. It's a good sized property, and my mom took great pride in all of the flower beds t hat she had created. My dad has bad arthritis, so it's hard for him to keep everything in good condition, so during the Spring into Fall, I try to get out there on weekends to do yardwork. It's where I feel her presence the most in very subtle ways.

By Carol40
Posted May 5, 2008 at 4:01 pm
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When my dad passed away in 1987 the clock that was on our stove started working. It hadn't worked for years since the part that you set the time with had fallen into the glass that surrounded the clock.

He also came to me in a dream about 3x a week for eight years until I conceived my son. The dream was always the same. It was him sitting on his favorite chair and I would say to him, "you're not suppose to be here." And he'd always reply, "I'm not staying long." I always woke up in tears from it. Looking back after my son was born I think it was his way in telling me that my heart was going to be happy again someday.

Carol

By arlene
Posted May 5, 2008 at 8:23 pm
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Thanks all- I loved reading these also. It reaffirms my faith that our loved ones can communicate with us from beyond. I am going to choose a symbol with my husband that he can use to tell me he is ok. Hopefully, he won't get there for many years but I want to have one nevertheless. arlene

By slbs
Posted May 6, 2008 at 12:21 am
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Yes, you have to "look and listen.' I received many signs from my dad, until her crossed over to the other side. One of my sisters was disappointed that she didn't feel the presence of my dad. And than one day she opened the curtain and there was a squirrel sitting in the bird feeded, and same event happened for numerous weeks.

Now, my mom passed away a year ago and I'm still looking and listening. No sign! Perhaps she's already passed over to the other side, or I'm missing the clues.

By bwarfel
Posted May 7, 2008 at 1:25 pm
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I have been a serious birdwatcher for at least ten years. My wife slowly became interested, and after a while she became keenly interested and curious about hawks and owls. She had an incredible ability to see them in the trees while I was driving. She was diagnosed with nsclc on September 10, 2004 and passed away on May 29, 2006. In May 2007, my daughter was married in a beautiful outside, night-time setting. Next to where we sat there was an empty chair for her mom. At the end of the ceremony a friend ran over to me and pointed up into the trees. There was an owl there, looking down, directly towards us. The wise owl, looking down on us.

Best wishes,

Bill

By amberwaves
Posted June 5, 2008 at 2:46 pm
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My sign from my mother India, is a blue jay which visits me daily. She sits a foot away from me on my window for hours. She follows me on the ground when I am outside, when I am with friends and alone. She began visiting me at the same time my father was diagnosed with NSCLC BAC. The support and her presence couldnt have come at a better time.

Believe the unbelievable.

Cheers,
Amber

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