Late last week, my brother miraculously came across a piece of information in a box of stuff that we had somehow never come across before. He found a food ration card with the address of the house Mom lived in when she was evacuated to Beaumaris, Wales in 1939. I had really wanted to know which house she lived in, and with whom. I think Mom answered my plea by guiding my brother to find the food ration card in the box of old stuff. It's what I had wanted to know, and I think she wanted me to know too. I think she wants us to know her story.
That was pretty cool, so I told Dad, "Okay, Dad, I've heard from Mom. Now you're up!" But nothing seemed to come, so I nagged him about it as I drove to yoga class Saturday morning. (Yes, that was me, talking to myself in the car.) The teacher started class by telling us a story, which included a reference to an episode of the Bob Newhart show. Well, my Dad LOVED Bob Newhart. We had Bob Newhart comedy albums at our house long before he ever had his TV shows. So my ears perked up. In the episode in question, a woman went to Bob (a pyschiatrist) for therapy. Bob told her that he would solve her troubles in five minutes. The woman launched into a speech about her baggage and her troubles. Bob told her that he had two words that could solve ALL her problems. The two words were:
STOP IT!
Well, if my father was going to send me a message, he would definitely do it in an amusing way so that he could giggle about it. If he could handpick a messenger, it would surely be Bob Newhart - because that's how I would know the message was from him! As for the message itself, "STOP IT!", I can totally see where that would come from. I worry too much. I fret. I mull. I perseverate. I overthink. And seriously, I need to STOP IT!
So, thanks Dad, for the advice. And thanks, Mom, for the information. I bet you're both feeling pretty pleased with yourselves right now.
Do you believe in signs? Have you gotten any? Do you think I'm nuts? It's okay - I might be!
No, I don't think you're nuts. Well, that might mean we both are, But, seriously, I believe in signs, too. And I talk to my Mom and Dad who aren't on this earth anymore. Mostly while I'm driving - or in the shower. I think back in the mists of time, I might have been the one who pored over the bones and cloud shapes.
ReplyDeleteOverthinking? Like you, I'm a master. My son has been telling me not to overthink since he was about 12 LOL
We are two peas in a pod!!
DeleteI do believe in signs. My Dad always said he would find a way to tell me if there was more "beyond". On the day of his funeral the doorbell rang (no one there) and the second I closed the door the phone rang (again no one there). I'm sure that was Dad.
ReplyDeleteThat was absolutely your dad!!
DeleteWhen I ask for guidance I get signs, information just popping into my head, dreams, and answers or advice in unexpected ways. If you're crazy, then I am, too. ;) This was really cool!! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm in good company!
DeleteI know exactly where you're coming from. I see signs in a lot of things. It's a comfort, and I'm sure there are bigger things out there than we're aware of.
ReplyDeleteIt IS a comfort, and I think you're right about bigger things.
DeleteI most certainly believe in signs! I get them often and they always delight me.
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteI don't get signs I get feelings - are they the same? I'm sure if I paid a bit more attention and slowed down a little I'd see signs everywhere :)
ReplyDeleteI think they probably are - and you're right - the delivery depends on our receptivity, I think.
DeleteThat Newhart response was dead on, I think. I've always told people that they could save an awful lot of money from therapy by just letting go of issues. :)
ReplyDeleteMy father died in December 2009 and my mother passed away on February 5. The last several weeks it seems as if he has been around. I've dreamed about him some. And mom was calling his name in her sleep. And when she was in the hospital during the first week of January she was talking to him in her sleep (I'm sure it was him) saying once, "I can't get across. I can't get across." And then a little while later (in her sleep): "Someone sat on my bed all day yesterday and watched every move I made." She had this faraway look in her eyes the whole month. And then she passed away in her sleep that Sunday morning. I wasn't really surprised and the first thing I thought of was, "They are together now." They were true sweethearts - married 61 years.
Stories like that give me goosebumps. Your loss is very fresh - I'm so sorry. It's a hard time, losing our parents. You and I are on a close timeframe here. My mom had Alzheimer's and was very much out of it at the time Dad died. But that day, my sister and nieces went to see Mom right after Dad passed, and Mom looked at them and said, quite matter of factly: "He's gone now." Before Dad died, he was quite lucid, but then he started to tell us that he had to take his dog to be put down. The dog, in fact, had been gone for years. Then Dad said, "I think he's dying but he doesn't know it." There is so much that is mystical about death, and it makes me much less afraid.
DeleteI absolutely believe in signs.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, so many people's problems could be solved with those two words!
Couldn't they, though!!
DeleteAloha Melissa,
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe in signs! My mother visited me on my birthday this year, she transitioned a few years ago. I smelled her perfume that evening of her visit. At first I was so puzzled as to why I was smelling perfume other than mine. When my husband and I got back from my birthday dinner, I smelled it again. Suddenly I froze and realized my mother was visiting; I cried tears of sorrow, because I miss her and tears of joy, because of her visit. I had been wishing for a visit, I just didn't realize it would really happen.
I didn't thank you for the honorable mention of my blog, please forgive me, much has happened lately. So, thank you so much! I am indeed honored.
I'm home now, and will definitely make my way back into my workroom.
Warm hugs of aloha to you and yours!
Yay! You're back! Can't wait to see what you make next! And what a wonderful story about your mom's visits - gave me goosebumps.
DeleteI love Bob Newhart too. I'm not sure about signs, but I think people stay with us long after they are gone.
ReplyDeleteYes, in so many ways. Even if the signs are not really "signs" - those moments make us think of them.
DeleteOh yes I definitely believe in signs. I think often people get them put don't recognize them when they come. So glad you had your signs from your parents.
ReplyDeleteI think that's right - that's why I always ask for a second sign! We have to keep our eyes and ears open, and to be open to the possiblity too :-)
DeleteABSOLUTELY. They cannot all be coincidences.
ReplyDeleteI agree - in fact, I've come to believe that there is no such thing as coincidence :-)
Delete