I always had a feeling that my Mom would visit me around the time of her death. I just didn’t expect her to communicate with me in the way that she did – in the form of a Magazine.
When Mom passed, my brother, Tom called to tell me. I asked him for exact time and I made a special note to remember what I was doing at that moment. I had a feeling that it would be somehow significant – and for me, it was! I was reading an article about self esteem, written by Maya Angelou in the March 2001 issue of Oprah Magazine.
The next morning, I packed the magazine as I prepared to fly to the funeral, thinking that I might share the article with my family at some point during our remembrances.
My daughter and I settled into our hotel, and the next morning upon returning from breakfast, we noticed the very same Oprah Magazine on the table. I thought it odd because I didn’t remember unpacking it. It was definitely the same issue. I panicked a little as I looked for a stamp saying that it was a Hotel copy. There was none. I asked my daughter if she had bought a copy, but she emphatically informed me that she doesn’t buy Oprah Magazines. I had no choice but to check my bags for my original copy. Sure enough, there it was – still in my suitcase. Now I had two copies of the same issue. Where had the second one come from? I asked my sister-in-law if she had left a copy in our room. She laughed and made the comment that I’d been living in California too long and as soon as I moved I wouldn’t have these experiences.
I ran downstairs to the Front Desk to ask the clerks if they had provided the magazine. They gave me a puzzled look. After all, here we were in a small city in Canada, and they had never heard of the newly published Oprah Magazine. I pretended that it must be my mistake and went back to my room ready to take in what was obviously a communication from my Mother in the form of a magazine article.
I read the story over and over again and enjoyed the many thoughts and impressions that were coming to me. My impression was that Mom was trying to remind me to really rely on myself and the strength of who I am. Self-esteem is what would give me the power to go through the difficulty of losing her and my father, who had passed 14 months previously.
I enjoy great peace, knowing that Mom reached out to me during her passing. It’s well known that the deceased often move their things around after their passing. My Mother’s precious reminder gave me physical proof that she is watching over me. On difficult days especially, I feel her closeness and her help. It gives me tremendous comfort that Mom left a final message tailor-made for me.