{"id":14315,"date":"2023-01-29T09:26:27","date_gmt":"2023-01-28T22:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/?p=14315"},"modified":"2023-01-30T21:06:12","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T10:06:12","slug":"trust-the-signs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/?p=14315","title":{"rendered":"Trust the signs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today\u2019s date – 29th<\/sup> January \u2013 has long held its own energy. It was the last time I held my mum\u2019s hand as she slipped away. It seemed, even at that time, to be an honour, a sacred privilege to hold her hand, to be with her as she crossed that ethereal bridge to the waiting arms of her mother and father.

In those dark hours, sitting by her bedside, I had heard a strange crackling in the corner of the room. I \u2018knew\u2019 it was her mother and father they had come to meet her and were saying \u2013 \u2018it\u2019s time to come home Chris\u2019. What a joyous homecoming that must have been for them all. I gave myself a talking-to afterward \u2013 \u2018Your brain is playing tricks on you\u2019. I hadn\u2019t slept for days and I was jetlagged.

My mum\u2019s own mum died when she was 5 years old. That signalled the end of the old life for her and her brother. They came down with Measles immediately after their mum had died, spent 3 weeks in hospital, and instead of their father picking them up to go home, the \u2018Superintendent\u2019 at the Orphanage in Bridge of Weir came to collect them. I\u2019ve no doubt that since that time, all my mum ever wanted was a family and a \u2018Home\u2019, though she never spoke of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the depths of winter, dark and cold in Scotland \u2013 13 years ago today when my mum was once more reunited with her family on the other side. She was finally \u2018Home\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then, joy of joys, little signs appeared like shoots of new growth in Spring. Life began to open in magical ways as though someone was walking ahead of me, clearing the way, orchestrating moments, and meetings. One such meeting was with my now husband who I call Mr P (mainly because when we met, I couldn\u2019t pronounce his surname). There were moments of strange familiarities, through his mannerisms, his likes, and dislikes, and yet he was completely different to anyone I\u2019d ever known. I had no doubt my mum had \u2018sent\u2019 him to me because of numerous parallels and coincidences that seemed to \u2018link\u2019 him to her. I did for a while think my brain and perceptions must have been distorted by grief, seeing the signs in everything \u2013 through Mr P. We talked about how weird it was \u2026 but even he felt he somehow knew my mum through the stories I told him. My trust in my inner knowing strengthened to a point of acceptance. Even to this day, he will say or do something that brings my mum right back to my side as surely as if he was channeling her himself.

At this moment in time, Mr P is doing his best to find us that \u2018forever\u2019 \u2018Home\u2019. While it\u2019s been emotionally draining on some levels, it has been an adventure too \u2013 seeing new places and ‘dreaming in’ new possibilities of what the rest of our lives look like in our new home. I look for signs with each new home we inspect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another such meeting, which I thanked my mum for orchestrating, was between Eric and Toni. I knew my mum had sent him to her \u2026 his birthday being the 29th of January after all.  From that moment, the 29th of January became a day of joy and celebration \u2026 yes there was loss \u2013 and there was birth – and laughter through cakes blowing out candles, balloons and embarrassing photos. It linked Eric to my mum, somehow and linked us all together as a soul family \u2026 But Eric left us too soon \u2013 to go home. He left his beautiful mum and dad, his family, his friends, and his fianc\u00e9e, and we feel \u2026 well \u2026 we are still at a loss for words. We know he is in the arms of adoring family who have gone before him, and I know on some level he has caught up with my mum up there \u2013 clearing paths, orchestrating moments, and meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During those early days, Toni and I talked of going \u2018home\u2019 to Scotland. I wanted her to feel the arms of family, her dad, second mum, siblings, aunties, uncles, cousins, and my own friends who had known her as a baby \u2026 it felt important that she have some time to connect with those that love her so she knows and feels she is part of an even bigger family \u2013 so she can feel all the love around her.

Flights were still crazy expensive though and it was looking tricky to organise and really not possible for one or two of us, let alone three of us at this time \u2013 until a promotional fair popped up\u2026 date of travel \u2026 you\u2019ve guessed it \u2013 29th<\/sup> January. After checking that Toni felt she would be OK to travel that date, we booked it. It just seemed to be such an obvious sign amongst the $4000+ flights to see one significantly more affordable than all the rest.

So, this evening Toni will be flying \u2018Home\u2019 to Scotland – to the other side of the world – to the arms of a family who have had to love her from a distance over the years. I have to trust in this sign that Eric and my mum helped orchestrate this trip on today of all days. Of course, I am going to miss her. We have been together practically every day over these last few months. But I also know it\u2019s time \u2026 and she will be back in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days it is hard to believe and trust. Believe that life will go on, believe that our loved ones are still there in Spirit, watching over us, with us every step of the way. It\u2019s hard to trust ourselves when we see the signs. But I’m here to say – trust those signs are <\/em>there \u2013 you don\u2019t even have to look far to see them. You just have to trust these signs are from your loved ones. They clear the pathways ahead of us, they orchestrate moments and meetings, and they send songs, butterflies, feathers and little moments in the flutter of a nearby dragonfly \u2013 a shining date that looms from the calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I finish this article<\/strong> \u2013 I kid you not, a poor Little Wattlebird has just found itself on the wrong side of the glass veranda. It’s a death trap the landlords, in their infinite wisdom, have erected around the upstairs deck. The bird kept trying to fly but it kept jumping up and hitting the glass. I wasn\u2019t sure if it was stunned at first or a fledgling still unable to fly properly. The veranda is up on the second floor, so it got up there somehow. My WIRES training kicked in, and with the help of Mr P gathering the necessary first aid items, we brought the wee thing indoors to give him protection from predators and to check him over and observe him. It\u2019s important to check for damage, wounding or disease \u2013 but my feeling was this little guy was fine and would be able to fly again \u2013 he just needed darkness, warmth, and safety until he had composed himself. It wasn\u2019t too long before I heard mum \u2026 I didn\u2019t want her stressing too much so I took the little adventurist downstairs to the foot of the tree where the Wattlebirds sing. After opening the box, he just sat blinking at me in indignation as they often do – so I wished him luck and moved away\u2026 Mum soon hoped over and called out to him \u2013 and off he flew to join her \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming back to my desk to write, I can\u2019t help but smile. Signs \u2013 there\u2019s me writing about how our loved ones send us feathers to let us know they are around \u2026 and seconds later a whole bird lands on our deck. The symbolism\u2013 well you just can\u2019t ignore that level of validation, can you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those navigating pain and loss, your loved ones are around you \u2013 sending signs, messages, and ripples of love. You just have to believe, trust and receive.
Sending all of you love & light x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s date – 29th January \u2013 has long held its own energy. It was the last time I held my mum\u2019s hand as she slipped away. It seemed, even at that time, to be an honour, a sacred privilege to hold her hand, to be with her as she crossed that ethereal bridge to the Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14315"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14332,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14315\/revisions\/14332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}