Even If Yer Ass Falls Off...

After waiting in the local human services office for 3 hours this past Monday I was told I was not eligible for either Medicaid or the state disability assistance program by not one, but two women (this must have been in case I decided to go postal on my case worker.)The "SDA" was designed to help provide cash assistance for people who have no income and Medicaid was created for people with low or no-income that meet certain um, "criteria." I was stunned to say the least! Altho I   have zero income right now, creditors haunt my cell phone daily to inquire if just 3 days after I last spoke with them if anything changed in my income status that would enable me to come up with payments amounting anywhere from $50 to $189. I visualize telling them "why, yes! I just won the Mega Millions Lottery yesterday! -sure, I can gladly pay you Tuesday..." or, "Ya know, my hip labrum tear, femur displacement and rotator cuff tear all miraculously healed, and then I was offered a dream job all within 3 days!-sure, how much money do you need for me to bring my account up to date?"

 My federal student loans for nursing school  going back to  2005 totaling over $17,000 have been placed in deferment indefinitely. To add salt to this wound, I was informed that I will be responsible for paying ALL of the continually accruing interest  on said deferred federal loans!  How nice...

In August, I  was forced to break a one year lease by just ONE month and I lost my beautiful 2 bedroom 2 bath 1,000 square foot apartment in a quaint middle class Michigan suburban town. (because I was 45 and disabled not 55 and disabled.)

I sold everything I own on either Ebay or Craigslist, including the brand new furniture I still owe the furniture company over $3,000 for, and dropped off remaining various and sundry items for 2 weekend garage sales to friend's homes. I took my Dell desktop PC to a computer geek friend to have it "gutted" so I could sell it as well. (I still need money to make my $317 a month car payment!)

"Loss"  has become my middle name for the past fourteen months when just prior to May of 2010, life was much rosier and I had $5,000 in the bank and I was working with a Realtor to purchase my first house at 44 (FORTY-four and there's so much more!...)- financially, my life was quite peachy!

 Serenity eluded me this past summer as two days before my 45th birthday,  I received a letter in the mail from the worker comp insurance company informing me that I was no longer going to be receiving medical care or lost wages. (Altho  to this day at the very least I still need hip and  shoulder surgeries.) I called charities, churches and food banks  in July and was continually informed that either I did not qualify because I was not a resident of this city or that township, or  routinely got  a "sorry, but we are all out of funds/ways and means/food..."  I still await word from my attorney that my worker's comp insurance company  has been ordered to pay for the 2 surgeries I've  needed since my slip and fall almost a year and a half ago as well as repay my  lost wages. The pain in my right hip has gotten worse and my shoulder range of motion is documented to be less than half of what it was prior to the surgery I had last November. (Good thing I decided to hoard some of my pain medications!)

There have been days  I've  wondered if I was perhaps born under a "dark star", or "it must be my Scorpio Rising" giving me grief as everyone in the metaphysical community KNOWS that anyone having anything remotely "Scorpionic" in their charts spells a life of more than a few challenges...  =) or that I must have been  Jack-the-Ripper's first cousin in a past life and now it is time to pay my "karmic dues."  Or  that this must be my "valley time" in life's peaks and valleys...Hey, I thought I already went thru the "Valley Stage" as a teenaged "Valley Girl" growing up in San Diego in the 80's!!!...like totally NOT!

 I even thought, being the undogmatic and so not-religious-but-spiritual person that I am, (after all, my name "Christine" stands for "fair Christian" not "good" Christian or "devout Christian" but "fair Christian!"...)that perhaps this is just my "Job-time"  like the famous story of Job in the Bible? and  I'm  supposed to learn some type of spiritual lesson? And finally, hey! this  SURELY, must be evidence of  my VERY LAST INCARNATION on Earth! ;)

But no, this is life. No one gets out unscathed. No one. Not anyone. Anywhere...

I have finally come to the realization that no matter how sunny everyone's life looks on the outside, everyone goes thru some type of grief or trauma. It's par for the course...(even for us non-golfers).The soccer Mom and the corporate CEO Dad with a nuclear family living in yuppity uppity middle class suburbia only look "normal" on the outside. On the inside, there are soccer Mom's having affairs with school principals, and nuclear children with personality disorders.  There are corporate CEO Dads writing off more than just business lunches. The smiling waitress at Big Boy serving your meals has a mother who just died and she has no money for the funeral. The police officer that pulled you over for speeding has a young wife he dearly loves who is dying of cancer and at the same time, he has to take care of his invalid 84-year-old father with Alzheimer's and pack lunches for his 7 year-old daughter.

What can one do? One can say an abbreviated version of the famous Serenity prayer, and yell out like Seinfeld, "Serenity NOW!" Or "God, help!" She can buy stock in Kleenex and cry. And cry. He can pray, he can scream in his car despite on-lookers...(hey, for all they know, he could be talking on his Blue-tooth!). This too shall pass...

A Chill in the Air

It's a grey, breezy morning and dozens of miniature raindrops grace my dining room window. Just a few days ago, it was a sweltering hot and humid 100 degrees in southeast Michigan and now, Autumn has settled in at least until "Indian Summer" comes to visit for one last  finale of summer  in mid-October.

 Autumn has always been my favorite season...of all time! Life slows down, kids go back to school, there is the delicious scent of burning leaves in neighbors' backyards, local cider mills open and welcome families to their famous Michigan "plain" donuts warm and fresh from the oven along with plenty of apple cider.    There is time to reflect upon the first 3/4 of the year that has already passed so incredibly fast! A new sense of clarity ensues... We can hear the music of our souls more clearly as the nights become longer and our dreams  become more vivid. Autumn is a time of reflection, remembering, giving thanks, of redirecting and "tweaking" our dreams and aspirations. A sense of profound peace permeates our Beings with an  appreciation for all the joyful experiences of the earlier portion of the year. Autumn is also the time when next Spring's  babies are lovingly conceived under a warm quilt with  the glowing ambience  of a lit fireplace. 

With the season of Light right around the corner, people are thinking of loved ones  and beginning to prepare for gift-giving and festive celebrations. 

Being Divinely interconnected with Mother Earth, We humans; like our animal friends, are devoting time to hunting and gathering and/or stocking up on food for the Winter.  A sense of hibernation ensues as we plop on the sofa on a chilly Friday evening with our loved one and enjoy a movie and a bowl of freshly popped gourmet popcorn smothered with butter and dowsed with salt. All is well in our Autumn world...

The Angel Invitation

Last week as I was reading through some of my favorite facebook wall pages, I read a post from a friend who was writing about an "Angel Ritual." This intrigued me- so I sent her an email requesting more information about it. She sent me the details of which I became enthralled and knew I had to  participate! It sounded like having a formal "Angel Party" in my home! How fun I thought, even though I know we do not have to be so formal with our requests for Angelic assistance or their presence for whenever we ask the Angels to be near us, they are there in an instant!

 I like to refer to it as my "Angel Recipe" instead of "Angel Ritual" as I am fond of food (perhaps a little too fond!) and cooking and it has a less "witchy" tone to it. (Not that there is anything wrong with people who are affiliated with  the Wicca religion.)The "Angel Recipe" read as follows:

It is the wish of the Angels to work with 3 individuals over 5 consecutive days and help each fulfill 3 personal wishes. (I consider these to be requests, or prayers... something you would like to see become manifest into your physical reality.)Afterward, each individual sends the Angels on to 3 new individuals who agree to accept them. The Angels stay with them over the next 5 days and then continue on to 3 new hosts. The Angels always arrive at the next host place at 10:30PM and leave on the 5th night at 10:30PM. It has been said that by the 20th cycle, the whole world could be affected; so large is the exponential function! There is a ritual for inviting the Angels into your home: Hosting requirements are: a white candle, (I used a white tea-lite candle as they only burn a couple hours and are low-risk for burning down your house lol)a white flower,or flowering plant (I gathered some white wildflowers-some may call them weeds, but like one of my favorite authors and healers, Dr Eric Pearl states "What's the difference between a weed and a flower?...PERCEPTION!" - Eric Pearl and his amazing book, "The Reconnection Heal Others Heal Yourself" has changed my life and entire belief system regarding spirituality and healing so profoundly since I was graced with a copy of his book and read it cover to cover in 2 evenings about 4 months ago!

Well I had to believe the Angels would appreciate my wildflower-weeds! =),  apple offering,(I used a Granny Smith apple lol) and 2 envelopes. The first envelope contains 3 personal wishes. The second envelope contains the names and geographic locations of your 3 friends who have agreed to host the Angels next. You need to ensure that you can be home at 10:30PM on the evenings of the Angels' arrival and departure. Before they arrive at your home, choose a suitable place in your bedroom as an altar.

"Welcome Ceremony"

On the expected evening, be home at 10:30PM to receive the Angels. Before they arrive, light the candle. 

1. Bless a white candle by saying "May God's Angels be present by lighting this candle" and put it in a candleholder which can burn safely while you sleep.(you can also use an artificial flame candle if the idea of allowing a real flame candle to burn while you sleep makes you anxious.)

2. Beside the candle, place a white flower in a bowl or vase. It is also OK to use a white flowering plant.(or in my case, since I could not afford to buy flowers, a few white wildflowers/ weeds even!-since it is all about intention!) 

3. Next to the candle and flower, place an envelope containing the names and addresses (geographical locale -like city and state is fine if you do not know the exact addresses of your 3 friends! afterall, the Angels "have your number!"-or energy-vibration!) of the 3 hosts who have agreed to accept the Angels after you.

4. In a second envelope, insert a paper with your HANDWRITTEN 3 wishes. (Handwriting makes a better connection to the Angels.-it's all about energy folks!)

5. On top of the envelope containing your 3 wishes, place an apple as an offering.(I used a green Granny Smith apple in the hopes that perhaps some of the Angels would appreciate a wee bit of sour versus sweet.- I know they did!)This step reminded me so much of being a 5 year-old kid excitedly setting out milk and cookies for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve! Only the best thing with this is the Angels are with you for five entire days not just one evening! If you have small children, this would be such a lovely and enchanting thing to do with their participation! The whole time, I kept thinking if I had kids, I would be doing this with them!

6. At 10:30PM open the front door of your home. (Physically, not just symbolically) and bid the Angels welcome with the following words:

"PLEASE ENTER ANGELS AND BE WELCOME, YOU WHO HAVE COME FROM GOD. THANK YOU FOR COMING AND ENVELOPING BOTH THIS PLACE AND ALL THE PEOPLE AND ANIMALS (I included "and animals" as I have a beloved pet Ringneck dove named "Uriel" named after the Archangel of Light -of course...wink wink! and a miniature Dachshund, "Malachy" which means "God's Messenger" and what is another word for God's messenger, kids?... "ANGEL"!) WHO STAY HERE. THOSE WHO ENTER WITH PURITY AND PEACE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING CHOSEN TO COME AND BLESS MY LIFE AND THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE AND ANIMALS AROUND ME WITH HARMONY, LOVE, JOY, WISDOM, AND STRENGTH. THANK YOU ALSO, FOR WISHING TO FULFILL THE 3 WISHES WHICH ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME."

7. During the 5 days that the Angels are with you, light a small white candle ( a tea-lite or votive candle works best) each night before you go to bed. The candle will burn out as you sleep. You will need 4 candles, because on the 5th night you are saying goodbye to the Angels.

8. If you usually pray or meditate, this is a good time to communicate with the Angels.(even if you don't usually pray or meditate, I guarantee ya, you will WANT to this night!) during their days with you, there are no requirements to do anything special, (They make it so easy for us!) other than be present at 10:30PM on the first and last evening and lighting a candle each night.

Goodbye Ceremony:

At 10:30PM on the fifth night, you physically open your front door and say thank you and goodbye to the Angels. Then send them lovingly on to the 3 new hosts who have agreed to receive them. (I will have to work on this one I think, as I will likely find it hard to let them go!) Read their names and addresses (or geographic locations i.e. city, State, country). PLEASE NOTE: The Angels will arrive to your 3 friends' homes FIVE NIGHTS AFTER you have bid them farewell from YOUR home.This means that there is a 5 day time period between the 5th night the Angels leave your home and when they actually are welcomed into your friends' homes.In another way to explain, your individual "encounter" with the Angels lasts 10 days. They are with you for the 1st 5 days, then they work on assisting you with your 3 requests the 2nd 5 days after leaving your home, then they go to your friends' homes at 10:30PM on the 10th night from your first night! (I am clarifying this in more detail as I found my original instructions to be  a little  bit confusing .)

This is to allow the Angels time to assist you in the manifestation of your requests!(Even though I personally believe that since we are all multi-dimensional beings and our time-space-reality is relative therefore this step should not be necessary!- but I play along anyway-why? because it's FUN!) Arrange to send this information on to the 3 new hosts and explain the dates.

Reminder: Start thinking about your 3 wishes and your 3 people immediately. Also very important: Be specific in your requests. (If you want to lose weight, say how much, over what period of time, that you don't want to feel hungry etc... Maybe you want to be self-employed or become a best-selling author. Indicate what kind of work you want to do. What kind of best-selling book do you want to write? How you would like to help other people with the words you publish?...State your requested income you would like to make, what type of working environment, what hours you would like to keep etc... The more specific you are, the easier it will be for the Angels to help.

Well, today is day 4 of hosting these precious beings in my home! On the first night, Sunday night- I welcomed them into my apartment with Dachshund in tow. "Malachy" immediately sensed their presence even before I had opened the front door! For the following thirty minutes or so after their invitation, Malachy was very inquisitve and nosing around the house looking to find "other people." There has been a delightful peace and serenity in both my home and my heart since Sunday night. Last night, Tuesday- I decided I was going to take a picture of my Angel Altar so I could share its beauty with some of my friends on facebook who are also inviting the Angels. Not knowing where my digital camera was offhand, I used my iphone 4 cell phone camera and snapped a pic. The room was lit with a standard 100 watt light bulbed lamp at my bedside, and just the small white votive candle at the altar area. There was no glare or reflection from the bedroom windows as the blinds were completely closed. I uploaded the picture of my Angel altar to my facebook page. Nothing looked out of the ordinary about it to me. Later that evening, a friend made a comment about my picture asking me if I noticed the Angel sitting at the top upper left-hand portion of the middle photo frame of the picture of my Mom (who had transitioned in 1993).

I immediately, took another gander at the picture on my computer and couldn't believe what I was seeing! There WAS an Angel perched on top of my Mom's photo frame! Complete with 2 wings at her sides, what looks like a pinkish translucent robe, and her head.... None of the other 2 photo frames had anything odd about them, just the photo frame of my Mom! If you enlarge your computer screen and look at the Angel altar picture above, you can clearly see this Angel!

I am always in such AWE when the Angels decide to reveal themselves in this physical world! What a gift! 

It is my sincere wish that anyone who reads my story and partakes in the "Angel Recipe" has all their wishes come true! With much love and Light!

A Visit From Mom

A couple of days ago I was in a photographic frenzy taking pictures of just about everything I own in order to advertise stuff on Craigslist for sale. I uploaded the images from my digital camera and onto my lovely little MacBook Pro laptop computer. As I was viewing the images, I came across the photo of my gorgeous marble top pub height dining set. Something caught my eye as  I glanced at the chair on the left side of the picture and saw a little round translucent ball "sitting" perfectly in position at the table! A huge smile spread across my face and a loving warmth permeated my being! I knew perfectly well what it was. It was a spirit orb. Not only that, it was my Mom's way of saying she was around and supporting me during this time of major travail and transition in my life.

Now, a lot of people may turn up their noses and say this is all BS, or the orb is just a ball of dust, and believe me, I concur that many of these types of images are in fact nothing more than dust. However, I have done extensive research on these wonderful little orbs and there are a few very good websites that describe in great detail with photographic examples of how to tell the difference between a "dust" orb and a spirit orb. Dust orbs are most frequently denser and brighter or even very dull looking while spirit orbs often show motion, and are translucent and opalescent  in hue. 

 It is also important to use your intuition with orb photos as in this case, if you knew my Mom when she was living in the physical world, she had quite a wonderful sense of humor and she continues to have one in  the spirit world! She has this  endearing "cute" and playfully child-like  mischievous  sense of humor and for her to reveal her spirit like this by perching her little "spirit orb butt" in the form of a little ball of light (perfectly positioned on the seat of a chair no less!) in my home, well this just warmed my heart! For again, I received a very clear sign that my Mom is still here for me and our love is eternal!

On an additional note, you can see a violet purple color surrounding the perimeter of the orb.

I also discovered that when I enlarged the photo above of my Mom in spirit orb fashion, I noticed there is actually a visible "smiley face" inside the orb! You can see there is a very clear upturned line for a smile, 2 eyes, and a cartoonish round button nose! My Mom always used to draw cute little smiley-faces at the end of  correspondence cards, notes, and letters she would write to loved ones!

Synchronistic Summer Solstice

Yesterday was a beautiful longest day of the year, June 21st-Summer Solstice. I decided to celebrate and met a good friend for lunch at a local restaurant called Fino's. We were seated at a delightful booth with a window view. Our friendly bubbly waitress, Denise had THE hairstyle I had been longing to have but couldn't find a hairstylist who could craft this kind of haircut on my head! I immediately asked her, "WHO does your hair?" then she told me the name of the local salon and proceeded to bring me a business card for the stylist. I peered at the little card and noticed the NAME of the stylist was MARY- who also happened to be the owner of the salon. (Mary was my Mom's name and I have long felt that I've been and continue to be Divinely led to meeting wonderful friends with the same name...."Mary" and even tho Mary is a popular name, I have had far too many "coincidences revolving around the name "Mary") I put the business card into my purse and we gazed at the menu, percolating on what we wanted to have for lunch. Not a big selection of vegetarian fare except for "vegetable stir fry" (too salty), or spinach pie (had spinach pie the last two nites for dinner!), or breakfast ("served 24 hours") eggs of all kinds, but the veggie omelette consisted of "tomatoes, mushrooms, and green peppers"... can you say B-O-R-I-N-G?!-I decided on a Greek salad and it was delicious! While we were eating our salads, I glanced up toward the bar/counter area where they had a flatscreen TV in silence mode broadcasting the latest "news" on CNN.... My eyes immediately veered to the ticker tape at the bottom of the screen as it displayed, "Living Laser" and I read how scientists had discovered they could create a type of laser light from biological cells of human and jellyfish! Inside I chuckled tho as I was thinking, "it's about time!" and "DUH....of COURSE, ALL living beings are MADE of LIGHT! and, "Why do they think they have to takeTWO separate biologic entities to create LIGHT when they only need ONE?!" but I digress...

However, I did begin to see a resonance, a type of synchronicity occurring in my day....as I felt I was led to the restaurant, led to the CNN news flash, led to the food server with a big smile and fabulous hairstyle! Hmmmm...After lunch I got into my car and proceeded to call "Mary" to arrange an appointment for my fabulous new haircut. I was thinking she wouldn't be able to fit me in until later in the week, like Thursday or Friday. Instead, I was greeted by a very friendly voice who said "I can fit you in today at 5:45PM." WOW! "how's THAT for manifestation?" I thought to myself! "Yes, of course, thank you....I'll see you then." I replied. The timing was perfect as I had enough time to go home and "slap on" some "Terracotta Blonde" no ammonia, far-fewer-toxic-chemicals European deep red hair color onto my prematurely grey head. Sitting on the sofa,with haircolor gooped onto my head and  draped with an old towel,  a laptop on my lap, and  cuddly Dachshund snoozing at my side - I began to ponder with awe at  how the timing of all of the events of today seemed so Divinely orchestrated and that I was one of the stars in this synchronistic movie! I felt like an observer, a moviegoer who was thoroughly enJOYing this movie I both starred in and was viewing. After the hair color job was complete, I dressed and set out to meet "Mary" at the salon. I walked thru the door and was joyfully greeted with a smile and introduction. I felt a familiarity with Mary... a kindness~ and as I sat in the beauty chair we conversed like old friends. I soon discovered that she had a large family of seven siblings, that her Mom had also passed on and that she was very close to her Mom as I was with mine who had also passed. I sweetly announced that I was so excited to be seeing my favorite band in the world, U2 perform this Sunday in Lansing, MI. Then Mary said she had a brother who loved U2's music as well. Something inside me said "ask her if he's single!" so I did. I learned he was in fact a single man, and the more we talked, the more Mary discovered that I and her bachelor brother had in common! She said she would tell him about me and encourage him to contact me! I was giddy with excitement at the thought of meeting a new friend at the least and a lifelong companion at most. I drove home with the BEST haircut I ever received and a big smile on my face. Thank you Angels, thank you God!

Uriel~ The Dove of Light

Last Sunday night I was looking through ads on Craig's List and felt drawn to look at animals up for adoption. God knows I love animals of all kinds, but am not ready to invite another little dog into my home as I am still currently residing in an apartment and the dream home I plan to acquire is not til a wee bit later this year! =)

But I came across an ad for a beautiful baby Ringneck Dove hatched about 5 weeks ago and the breeder wanted a small "rehoming fee"  I had always wanted to share my life with a dove as they are such sweet, gentle, and well, stereotypically speaking...peaceful little beings! Then my "rational" mind said "sleep on it" so I did and thought the little baby bird would surely still be available tomorrow if he/she was meant to share my home with me. 

On Monday morning which happened to be Memorial Day, at about 11:30AM I logged back onto the internet and again studied the ad for the precious dove. I decided to send a text message to the breeder as they stated to do so in their ad. About 15 minutes later, I received a return text message stating the bird was still available! My heart danced in my chest! I then proceeded to text back to the breeder that I wanted the bird and would it be alright to come over and pick him up about 3PM that day? (of course, this was fine with them!) I then realized I had about 2 1/2 hours to find a nice sturdy cage home, "Dove" food, and accessories for this little being! I looked on Craig's List again and saw an ad (without a photo) for a birdcage for $30 complete with toys, perches and a stand. It was even LOCAL to my home which was a plus with gas at $4 a gallon! I texted the folks with the cage and also another person with a cage for sale in the area. Little did I know, that I had actually confused my text messages with both of the 2 cage sellers and had actually driven out to see what I thought was the seller with the cage with a stand~and it was the wrong seller! I looked at my watch and saw that it was now 1:30PM! I now had about an hour and a half tops to acquire a cage home, dove food, and then drive over to pick up my new feathered friend! I just continued to trust that all was well and that it would work out... I texted the seller with the cage with the stand and apologized for the mix-up as it was now 1:30PM and I had previously arranged to meet this person at 1PM. (Of course, it was fine to still come and see the cage!).

 So I headed over to see the lovely birdhome with a stand and all and of course it was just perfect! I thanked the lady and made my purchase. At 2PM I still had to get some dove food before picking up my feathered baby. I went to my local pet supply store in hopes of finding food specific to doves (as doves do not hull their seeds but rather swallow them whole~which makes for a tidier bird than the average sloppy parakeet! )Yes, they had "Dove food!" The pet supply store  had a small cage (on SALE even!) that I also bought to safely transport my little bird home in. It was getting closer and closer to 3PM as I then drove in the direction of the town with my little dove. I had time to stop in the local Meijer store and pick up some sweet potatoes (I learned doves enjoy cooled mashed sweet potatoes as a treat and of course I wanted to spoil my little darling!)then I was on my way... I turned in to the neighborhood and quickly realized I was lost in the subdivision! Just as I was texting the breeder, she called me and I looked up to the left and knew it was her! I was actually "lost" in front of her house! I parked my car, greeted Carrie and asked her how she got into doves. She said "My Mom has always been into birds." That's interesting, I thought to myself... so did MY Mom!...I then "met the parents"... the parents of my little dove! They were doting and beautiful! I had also come to learn that both dove parents share equally in child-rearing  including feeding and perching atop the unborn eggs and they mate for life! "More to love about doves!"

 I slowly approached the cage and allowed the baby to step onto my finger. I was amazed at how very innately tame and gentle these birds truly are! I held him to my chest and spoke softly to him "you're going to come home with me." I chatted a bit with Carrie and placed my little guy into his traveling cage and drove home. Yes, it was all "meant to be" and orchestrated so perfectly! I also realized in an "a-ha" moment that it was in fact, "Memorial Day"... that my Mom who had transitioned in 1993 always loved birds and AGAIN this was yet another gift from her!

At the Flea Market

It was a muggy grey Saturday morning at the local flea market as the sun boldly dared to reveal itself behind the looming clouds. My friend Crissy and I had rented four car parking lot spaces for the day. Crissy was joyfully giving her oracle card readings as "the Good News Psychic" and I was liquidating my vast wardrobe of nursing scrubs. 

I was enjoying people-watching and eating my apple for lunch when something that appeared to be a floating piece of debris floated into the air in my direction and proceeded to choose  landing on top of my right shoulder! Ewww, was my first reaction! But as I peered down toward my shoulder I grasped the "debris" with my left hand and lifted it off  my shoulder bringing it closer to view... I looked more intently at it and saw that it was soft, fuzzy, and light grey colored. Why, it was a FEATHER! It was a teeny tiny baby BIRD feather! It couldn't have been bigger than 1/2 of an inch long! 

Then I began to think, wait a minute! there are absolutely NO trees in the vicinity! I am sitting in a portable green camper's chair in the middle of a large black tarred parking lot amidst a sea of people at a busy intersection bordering the cities of Waterford and Pontiac, Michigan! There was no evidence of Nature anywhere to be found other than this tiny feather that just "happened" to make its way on top of my right shoulder! And again, I realized this was another gift from Mom! She even placed the little feather on top of my right shoulder so that I would know without a doubt it was from her! I had been recovering from some serious injuries sustained from a fall I had a little over a year ago and my right shoulder had been one of my injured areas. 

A few weeks ago, I had received some Reconnective Healing sessions and during my second session,  my Mom made it known that she was there as I had felt the gentle pressure of a hand placed onto my right shoulder while at the same time, I whiffed the scent of  freshly baked banana bread permeating the practitioner's entire house! For folks who don't know; with Reconnective Healing, the practitioner NEVER touches the "patient" lying on the table and when the session was over, I looked the practitioner squarely in the eye and asked her if she had been baking banana bread in her house. (Of course, the answer was no!) My Mom  always  baked  amazingly delectable banana bread and us kids used to love gobbling  it up!

The Red Feather

Moving to Clarkston was my intention for about a year and on October 10th, 2010, yes… 10/10/10! I found a beautiful apartment and made my move. It went ALL wrong! From the "Two Men In A Truck" arriving an hour late and turning out to be "Two Boys In A Truck," to the "Boys" saying they had to take time to relax on my dime to eat pizza in the moving truck, to not being able to get the sofa OUT of the old apt, to not being able to get the old sofa INTO the new apartment and then having to resort to either abandoning my less-than-a-year-old beautiful brown high back microfiber sofa to the dumpster or calling all my friends in a state of contrasting emergency to see if one of them would temporarily "house" my precious sofa! What a day! I had seriously forgotten just how stressful a move COULD be! As it turned out, my sofa was driven to my friends' house and I was later informed that  another friend of mine and her husband who were struggling financially unbeknownst to me, were in need of a sofa. Well, the Universe decided the best thing would be to give my sofa to my friends in need.  I was pleased as punch! I knew that God/Source/All That Is had a plan for me and possibly that plan would of course include even BETTER new furniture for my cozy new apartment! And I was right! 

I was able to purchase a lovely olive green sofa and love seat living room set complete with flatscreen TV, decorative rug, two lamps, two end tables and a matching coffee table! When the furniture company delivery men arrived at my door, they quickly realized that they could not get my new furniture in through the front door! "Here we go again!", I thought… then, the final resolution was to hoist the sofa up over the balcony of my apartment. "Do I really want to be present to witness this attempt?" I thought. Uh, NOOO! However, I gathered the gumption to watch and with a huge belt-like thing, they managed to do it. I was eternally grateful and the men were off for their next delivery.

 It was very strange to be in a new living space. VERY… I had come from a tiny 500 square foot 1 bedroom garden apartment to a huge 1,000 square foot 2 bedroom "castle" apartment and realized the walls were paper thin in the new place as my Miniature Dachshund seemed to have a very healthy fifth Chakra and proceed to bark his ever-loving head off at the drop of a hat!…or when the mailman arrived, or when the neighbors' door opened, or when the guy upstairs pounced around his living room each Saturday chasing his hyperactive toddler son around directly above my head… "Great, just great!" I thought. I haven't even been in this place a month and I am going to be evicted due to a misbehaving loudmouthed yappy lapdog of mine!   I began to feel that maybe I had made the wrong decision to move here. After all, the move was pure hell. I felt like I did a very poor job of "manifesting a smoothe move" "Law of Attraction my ass!" I thought! -No pun intended…But I knew I had created this move and it all happened for my highest good, really. Even if it didn't feel like it at the moment. One day I left my apartment with my small red hound and ran a few errands. Upon returning, I walked up my stairs and reached my front door. Mind you, the door to my apartment is housed within an exterior corridor hallway of sorts and there were never any wind gusts that could possibly reach my apartment door! I glanced down at my feet on the "welcome" doormat that so proudly welcomed all friends who visited, and I saw a soft pale (female) red fluffy Cardinal feather! Joy permeated my Being as I once again, was given a gift from Spirit…from my Mom!

The Snowy Owl

It was a couple of years since my Mom had made her transition back Home. I walked into my local Hallmark store probably in search of another mushy birthday card for a friend when I found a collection of children's stuffed animals at the back of the store. A beautiful Snowy Owl sat majestically in the front of the other "stuffties." I picked him up and noticed how super soft and fluffy he was in my hands. Then I noticed a manufacturer's "gift tag" on the bird's left wing. As I gazed at the card, it read, "For you (heart) with a small red heart"  and had an illustrated drawing of a cute brown teddy bear with his arms outstretched in a "pre-embrace" fashion next to the inscription. "That's cute", I thought… then my eyes shifted downward to the bottom of the giftcard and my jaw DROPPED! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! It read…"Mary Meyer." That was my Mom's name verbatim, EXACT spelling! I was stunned! 

Well, of course I had to purchase my new owl friend so I brought him immediately up to the counter to present my cash. I walked out to my car, got in and opened the paper bag containing my newfound stuffed pal. I picked him up again and noticed he had what I now affectionately call "the butt tag" and it said in big BOLD RED letters… MARY MEYER! I knew without a doubt as tears fell down my face that this was indeed another gift from Mom! It was perfect!…from the "gift card" with the teddy bear drawing preparing to hug someone to  the "For you, love" As my Mom, being 100% Irish American had always affectionately called us kids "love!" You see, Mom always loved birds and was also a child at heart and liked stuffed animals as well! And again, I knew I was never alone and that my Mom was always near me! 

The Crow

It was December 27th, 1993  around 10:30AM as our entire family gathered around Mom's bedside in her sunny San Diego home. I was holding Mom's left hand with my right hand as we all watched her take her last gasps of air until she finally took one long breath and then  peace permeated the entire room. She was a merely 50 years young Mom, and I was a 27 years young daughter.  Mom had been struggling with Cancer for the past five years and she had finally decided it was time to go back Home. 

We had a memorial service at our local Catholic church followed by a traditional Irish wake with many many family and friends. A few days later I was sitting at the window seat of my plane preparing to take off and return to Michigan. There was a long stretch of 8 to 10 silver birds lined up for take off at the San Diego Airport that morning.  All of a sudden, out of the corner of my right eye there appeared a rather LARGE BLACK BIRD! He looked like a Crow and I noticed that he was hovering and trying to get my attention, it seemed. He kept turning his head and flapped his wings to stay within view of my window! "That's odd", I thought to myself. Then I started to think, here I am on a NOISY departure strip of an airport getting ready to take off with all these other noisy planes revving their engines and a BIRD decides to reveal himself to me! My left brain tried to justify and rationalize it all. It simply could not be done! Birds just don't fly up to airplane windows and HANG OUT! Birds don't like LOUD sounds!…Finally we were airborne, and I realized it was my Mom saying "I love you, I am still with you, and I am ok." I cried into my kleenex tears of both sadness and comfort with a deep knowing that I would never be alone.