A Nudge From Beyond

In Trish and Rob's book 7 Secrets of Synchronicity they talk about the interconnectedness of all beings. How sometimes we are nudged in directions that we don't always understand when it is happening.

Last week I was unboxing and going through some really old stuff that has been stored in a trunk that my brother made for me. In my exuberance to rid myself of "stuff," I came across a box that belonged to my mother. I'm not sure when it was given to me, but I think it was when my grandmother died about ten years ago. I was busy with children and work at the time and didn't go through the box, which had  Joyce's Correspondence, on the top. My mother died when I was six years old.

When I opened the box there was a picture of my aunt, my mother's sister, on the top. She was about five years old in the picture. I immediately felt guilty for not visiting her in way too long. My aunt is completely disabled from diabetes, having one leg amputated and completely bedridden. We talk occasionally on the phone and I send her money and other things that she needs when I can. But I have avoided visiting her because it is just painful and unpleasant. I know, selfish of me. But she lives in California and we have been living in Oregon and Minnesota, so visiting has been easy to avoid. I might add that she lives with her son and his family, so she is surrounded by people she loves, she is not alone.

But that doesn't excuse me. I know that.

Just as I was leaving for Sacramento (where she lives) I get a call from my brother. He says our aunt is in the hospital and may not make it. Visiting her is now unavoidable, as I am heading in that direction for the 4th of July at my brother's house.

All I can say is thank you to the nudges I was given, including the picture in the box of my mother's correspondence. She was awake and feeling well enough that she was heading home that day. My aunt was so happy to see me, and my brother, that it brought tears to my eyes. She kept saying how much she loved us.

I don't know how much longer she has, probably not long. She has congestive heart failure, diabetes, and may lose her other leg. For a woman that is only 61 years old, she is not in good shape. But for me it was a lesson learned. I'll make a point of trying to see her every few months. It was not as bad as I had feared, and the good that came of it far outweighed the bad. My mother and grandmother would want me to take care of her in any way that I can. So that is what I will do.

I've hidden money in her bag, to dole out to her grandchildren. I've ordered new hospital gowns for her, and sent her a bottle of her favorite perfume - Poison by Christian Dior.

But more importantly, I'll gift her with a visit from someone who loves her.