When the Universe works with you & you actually listen.

I don't pretend to have all the answers or have any idea what happens in the great beyond. We hear stories of angels or whispers in the dark and I know I have seen several of my pets staring at nothing in the air and I am quite sure they see something that I don't.

Some call them guardian angels, ghosts, spirits, celestial beings, devas, and many other names. I call them G'ma & Mom.
No matter what you believe or don't believe. All life is made up of energy and in my belief it has to go somewhere - energy doesn't stop, it may change form, but it continues on.

I mentioned in my last post that this past weekend was one year since my mom passed away and it has been more than 10 years since G'ma passed, but we still talk.

Yoga & deep thoughts.

I love yoga. 

Yoga is a way for me to find peace and to be present. It can be way more challenging than people give it credit for and it has been around for a really long time (way longer than crossfit) and for good reasons. 
If you poo poo it, but have never tried it, I encourage you to find a good studio or teacher and try a class or ten before you pass judgement.

So why the yoga talk...years ago after a particularly awesome hot yoga class during shavasana (corpse pose interestingly enough) I had an entire conversation with my G'ma. She had been gone many years at this point and I don't really know why this was the right time, but clearly we needed to chat. During shavasana you are to let go. Say thank you to your mind and body for allowing you to do this practice where you are at that moment. You try to let your body and mind completely relax. It is more difficult than you would think. I don't remember what we talked about any longer, but it still brings me peace and fills me with love. We have had a few other conversations over the years in dreams and each time I wake up in a wonderful place.

Birds and feathers and more.

Now we move on to messages from mom from the great beyond...
We hear stories of people that see things repeatedly that they had never noticed before. Some people say they find things that had meaning between them and the one they lost that they had never seen with regularity before the loss.
Some people report finding dimes as a form of communication from someone they have lost.
Others find pennies (I still snag wheat pennies because G'ma always did too).
People say cardinals sightings are signs that loved ones are near. With the amount of cardinals that come to my feeders, it is possible that all of my relatives are visiting from beyond.

For me it has been feathers. Mom loved shiny things and she adored the peacock feathers the neighbors would bring down (thanks Blums!) and since she has been gone I have found an extraordinary amount of feathers and from a crazy amount of different birds. I have a stash and Mark may or may not think I am nuts, but I don't really care. I find them everywhere and from all different kinds of birds and in places you wouldn't expect to find them - like parking garage stairwells and in the middle of a busy farmers market (with no birds in attendance).

So what is with this flower?

My next tryst with serendipity leads me to my orchid. I have owned orchids on and off for years. I buy them in flower and then bring them home only to end up with the best leaves out there. All my friends tell me I have the best orchid leaves. Never once in the decades I have owned several orchids have they ever even attempted to re-bloom. 

In the summer I take most of the houseplants outside to be happy and provide a place for the squirrels to hide nuts never to be found again. This summer about halfway through I decided to take the orchid out - I don't think I have ever put an orchid out in the summer, but why not. The orchid made its outside debut later than the others, and lived in a semi shady part partially under a bush. I would water and check on the plants every so often and to my surprise the orchid started shooting out new roots and what I thought might be an attempt at the beginnings of what might be a blossom stem.

This picture is from October and most likely right before the plants came back in for the winter. You can see the shoot in the front part of the picture it was about 3 or four inches tall here.

Fast forward to November and I think maybe I will have a Thanksgiving orchid. Nope.
Then I think maybe it will be like a Christmas cactus and bloom for me then. Nope.

I have no clue how long it takes an orchid to bloom and by this time I am thinking it is just messing with me and nothing is going to happen. The orchid stick became a running joke with me and a friend and I would send pictures and cuss profusely at the orchid that may never bloom.

Here is the orchid on January 4, 2018:

Still teasing me, but looking like it may be forming actual buds.

Fast forward to January 19...

Bigger buds.

By this time I am thinking the plant has a sense of humor and the buds are just going to drop off because it has taken months to get to this point.

Orchid January 23:

The cussing continues.

Maybe it will open for my birthday? Nope.

This process is so incredibly slow and I wonder if this is the process in the wild where they grow on tree branches and electrical wires and fences and anywhere they land. I have no idea and I have been to an actual orchid farm in Ecuador and they were all in bloom all the time. Jerks.

Orchid diary January 29:

I know this is long and drawn out, but stick with me.

Friday, February 2, 2018 I am looking at this damn orchid and wondering how I have wronged it and why it won't just bloom for me. PLEAAASSSEEEEE BLLLLOOOOOMMMM!

Then it dawns on me - it is going to bloom on Sunday, February 4, 2018. Why? Because it is my mom saying hello on the one year anniversary of her death.

I took these pictures Saturday, February 3 at about 6:30pm:

And then Sunday morning:

And Sunday evening:

Is it just serendipity? 

Maybe.
Is my orchid an Eagles fan?
Possibly.
But maybe, just maybe mom is out there saying, 'Hey you, I see you in the bathroom...brush your teeth!' I choose the latter because why the hell not?

Here is this gorgeous girl today:

Have you encountered anything out of the ordinary after losing someone?

I wonder what she will do next year? Knowing mom it will be flashy and in your face. And I say bring it on Mary Alice!