By
Recently my almost 88-year-old mother fell and broke her hip and needed 24/7 care for a couple weeks. I am fortunate to be the oldest of 6 children, who all get along, and who all live relatively close to my parents. We were able to divide the time that we spent assisting my devoted dad in caring for my mother during this stressful period. The time that I got to spend with them was priceless and turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
While I was “on duty” I heard my dad tell my mom that he would water “Andrew.” I was so touched that he knew that was something that my mother did every day. My nephew Andrew tragically lost his life at age 37, six years ago. When Andrew died, my parents planted a little shrub or bush and they named it “The Andrew Tree.”
All the family and all the neighbors knew about “The Andrew Tree.” My parents travel a great deal and have trusted next-door neighbors who tenderly take care of “Andrew” when they are out of town. I knew this, but until recently I did not fully understand the implications of the “tree” on their lives.
My mother told me that she watered “Andrew” every day and spoke aloud to him as she did so. She informed me that as heartbreaking as losing Andrew was – and at such a young age – that she felt closer to him now than ever. She told me that when he was alive, she didn’t talk to him every day like she does now. There were special things she wanted to say to him when he was on this earth, that she didn’t; and now she tells him directly and she has a knowing in her heart that he hears her. She said she doesn’t fully understand it, but she had established a connection with him, and he was still alive to her, just in a different way.
My parents do not share the same spiritual beliefs that I do, but they have found their own way to honor and love Andrew each and every day. I think it is beautiful. And it was especially beautiful to see my dad upholding the tradition of “watering Andrew,” when my mother was physically unable to do so. The love they share for Andrew and for each other was evident in the patient and caring ways they have nurtured one another through the aging process.
I thought about the “Andrew Tree” today on July 10, 2019. It was 2 years ago on this very day that Craig died. Those of you that have been following my blogs know that Craig was my personal trainer for a couple of years before he passed and has become my “afterlife trainer” since he passed. He has been reaching out to me on a daily basis since he departed utilizing heavenly signs and an accomplished medium. He has been teaching me about how to live a better life here, which equates to a better hereafter.
Shortly after Craig crossed over, he asked the medium to tell me that he wanted me to plant something in his memory. He said to plant it when I was settled, as he knew I was renting a small casita (one room). He loved puttering in his back yard and meditated daily with his plants. So, it came as no surprise that he wanted something live planted in his honor. He also told me that I should have live flowers, or a flowering plant, around me at all times. He said the flowers came from the angels and the plants themselves absorbed the negative energy in the room.
Last year on July 10, 2018, I was in “plant and flower heaven” in Hawaii on Craig’s one year “celebration of his life” day or the one-year anniversary day of his earthly departure. I picked plumerias from the tree where I was staying and found some stray orchids and made a lei. I took the handmade lei down to the ocean and said a little celebratory prayer and launched the circle of flowers into the ocean.
Now I feel as though I have come full-circle on this July 10, 2019 on the second anniversary of Craig’s arrival in heaven. This year I was able to honor his request and plant something in his memory. There is now a beautiful rose bush that has been dubbed, “The Craig Tree.” I chose a rose bush because Craig told me through the medium that he knew that I loved the ocean and roses. During one “conversation,” he instructed me to go to the ocean and that he would be sending me one red rose.
There was a New Year’s Eve retreat in the Los Angeles/Marina del Rey area, with Marianne Williamson that I attended shortly after receiving the information from the medium about Craig recommending that I go to the ocean. On New Year’s Day, I did indeed go to the ocean. I went very early and was the only one on the beach for about an hour. It was a beautiful day and the perfect way to start the new year. I walked to the very end of the pier in Marina del Rey and wished Craig a Happy New Year. I thanked him for all the signs, gifts, and lessons he had taught me over the previous year. As I gazed out on the calm crystal blue sea, I saw one solitary red rose floating out in the middle of the ocean. I took a picture. There was no one else around, no boats, and no seemingly possible way for this solo red rose to have manifested in the middle of nowhere.
When I walked back to my car, there were now vehicles in the parking lot, which had been empty. There was a blue Harley Davidson motorcycle parked right next to me. It just so happens that Craig’s prized possession on earth was his shiny blue Harley Davidson motorcycle (check out my blog called Mystical Motorcycles). As I got situated in my car, I took a picture of the man on the motorcycle as he drove away.
I have had so many significant signs from Craig that it has changed the way I think about life and death. I am reading a magnificent book called: Signs – The Secret Language of the Universe by Laura Lynn Jackson, New York Times Best Selling author of The Light Between Us. I highly recommend it. It’s awesome!
I’m following the signs to my new home, where I will be moving shortly. A koi pond, turtles (check out Turtles and Koi ), and “The Craig Tree” are waiting for me as well as the promise of a flourishing life.
Please share the way that you honor those that have crossed over and share any significant signs of your own.