An Elephant Never Forgets

The session with Steve was rather amazing and specific in many aspects. To give you a little background, my father died in 1994. My parents had ben married for 53 years and my mother was totally devastated upon his death. She tried so hard to rebound, but had spent so much of her life devoting herself to my father that she had trouble trying to find her identity after he was gone. She attempted to laugh and live, but failed due to her profound sadness. For years she never shed a tear and, always a devout Christian, began to doubt her belief in God and any existence of an afterlife. As the years following my father's death unfolded, she developed congestive heart failure, emphysema, and Parkinson's disease. Her only sibling, Frances, was always her closest friend and confidant, but had since 1995 suffered from Alzheimer's disease and gradually ceased to know my mom. I remember the last visit they had where my aunt looked right through my mom. It just about broke my mom's heart. Anyway, all these things coupled with the fact that she contracted pneumonia almost yearly and had almost died on more than one occasion, made my mom dependent upon me, her nearest child geographically. I am one of four daughters.

Before my father died because my family and I lived only three miles away, I became the chief caretaker and spent literally most of my free time helping care for my father, and after his death, for my mother. I tried my hardest to always assist them make decisions and offer as much support as possible without stripping them of independence. When the time came that my mother could no longer make those decisions, I attempted to preserve her dignity as much as possible and make the choices that I believe she would have made. Near the end, she became totally dependent on me and often would put her entire trust and faith in me even to the exclusion of her other daughters (sometimes making it a bit uncomfortable when they would visit and she would turn to me and say "Ruthie, what do YOU think I should do?").

Anyway, when she was dying in the local hospital hospice unit, we each, one by one, went in to see her and to say what we felt. She shared with me that I had always been there for her and that, if it hadn't been for me, she would never have made it as far as had. By this time, she had almost lost the use of her legs, relied upon inhalers and oxygen, and fought a valiant struggle to keep her mind clear as the Parkinson's disease was robbing her of her ability to think and to speak. Amazingly, on that day, her mind was as clear as a bell and she had regained her ability to speak totally articulately. She told me that I had been the kindest to her of anybody and that she had never doubted that everything I had done for her was one hundred per cent in her best interest. She thanked me and told me that she loved me and that she would try to return as a butterfly to visit often. (We often joked as we sat on her front porch that overlooked the beautiful Penobscot Bay that every butterfly was probably Dad just popping by to say hello.)

I am still attempting to deal with some delicate family issues in the wake of her death and have tried, once again, to do what I thought she would have me to do. Some of it has not been easy and I have, on occasion, experienced doubt as to how I am handling everything. I had Power of Attorney and am now Executor of the Will. Anyway, you can imagine my amazement when you shared the following with me:

1. You told me that a female spirit had come through and you were feeling numbness in your legs, restricted breathing and felt as though you had trouble speaking. (All of my mom's symptoms.)

2. You told me that this female spirit wanted to thank me for taking care of her in her illness and that she never could made it without me. You said that I was her chief caretaker and when everybody else was busy or couldn't make it to help her for one reason or another, I was always there to help her. (This was almost verbatim from my last conversation with her!!)

3. You said she wanted me to know that she was sorry that she hadn't listened more and forced her opinions on people less. (I'm not sure about that as she was a gentle person. We, however, have some family discord that split the family hear the end of her life, and her undying loyalty to the person who caused all the problems, often made it difficult for some family members to accept. I think that this comment made by her through you may be relative to this.)

4. You said that you saw an elephant and that an elephant never forgets. (This didn't mean a't you remember how many times Mimi would say to you that you never forgot anything and that if anyone needed to know anything about the past, they would ask you because you remember everything?" She would even giggle and say; "An elephant never forgets".)

5. You told me that another female spirit was with her and the name "Frances" came to mind. (I nearly fell off the chair. As I have said, my mother's only sibling was her sister Frances and she just died two months before my mom. We all said when Auntie Fran died, my mother would give up living, which is just what happened.)

6. You said that there was a male spirit with Frances and that he was a strong character and appeared in complete control but in reality let a lot of people down. (This description probably fits my uncle , although I wouldn't want my cousin to know I think that!)

7. You said that another male spirit was coming through and that he saw things around my house that needed fixing. He also was concerned over the safety of our deck. (My dad was an ardent handyman and my husband isn't. Many things in our house need fixing. Our large deck does not have a rail around it and my husband and I have had words about the safety of it as our first two grandchildren were born this year and one of them is on the verge of beginning to walk.)

8. I think that the thing that pleased me the most was when you let me ask a question at the end of the session and I asked if the female spirit that was coming through so strongly and the male spirit concerned about the deck were together, You said "Yes they are, and he is helping her sort through things and find peace". After all her years of suffering after my Dad's death, I am so happy to think that they might be together in eternity.

I was also pleased that you told me that the female spirit said that she was always at my side and that my decisions are right on. The huge void that my mom's passing left in me is just a little less painful knowing that she just might be standing beside me through the next few years. I don't know if there is an afterlife and if this reading means something. All I know is that you hit very accurately on many aspects of my life and on my mother's life. And I now know that there is so much that we have yet to understand and that there seems the possibility that some of this is true. I guess I want to believe that my parents are happy and are together so that's what I choose to believe. And I thank you for helping me draw that conclusion by providing me with such a spectacular reading.