As we walked, we talked about our experiences. I was surprised by how different they were, somehow expecting there to be a method followed. My healer prayed over & with me. Mark's seemed to ask him more questions on what he "needed." It seemed appropriate we got who we got, no accidents in life has been one theme I've seen again and again! Anyway we chatted & walked, Mark suggesting we check out the forest temple & then a path to the beach. Mark & I are both water lovers. Walking toward the beach, thoughts of times on bodies of water & beaches come to mind. I know if we had the money, a place on a lake would be both our dream. Mark likes lake swimming more than ocean swimming, maybe because we grew up in the Finger Lakes area? Much of his Summers were spent at his Aunt & Uncle's cottage on Canandaigua Lake. I know Mark likes the cold calm of a lake, I love the sand & waves of an ocean, but lake living would suit me just fine! Anyway, as we approached the water, my cell rang. I recognized the name and number and even though we were on a date, I answered. Curiosity had the best of me, it was a call worth taking and I'm sure in the future I'll end up sharing more. Mark was patient as I took the courious phone call. He waited & researched our day in the pamphlets we were given at the gate. That has always been Mark's "thing" in our relationship, he researches & plans our days, I tend to "wing it more." We compliment each other well, because I get him to be more spontaneous & he gets me to plan. There are other parts of our life where I am the researcher & he is more the "wing it" person, but when it comes to vacations, Day Dates, or just an activity with the family, he tends to research. So, by the time I was off the phone, he had much figured out. We walked back toward the main area in search of lunch, as we were both pretty hungry. Our first stop was a coffee shop, which, much to my surprise had many gluten free items (I'm Celiac) but we quickly realized one of our mistakes, we had forgotten to get cash. I had known cash was needed, but it slipped my mind on our way out of town & neither of us had much. The cafe people directed us to an ATM. After getting cash, we decided on a lunch spot, the coffee place seemed better for dessert, so we went to Monika's Delights. We had a nice meal outside and talked more about what was next. There was a group meeting at Inspiration Stump at 1pm, so we kinda needed to rush to get there. There would be several mediums brought up to the stage and they would do short demonstrations of medium readings of audience members. I so wanted this for Mark. He had really "given into my desire" to come to Lily Dale and my deepest hope would be for him to get a message from his parents. There were several "messages delivered," but during one of them, I was especially moved. A woman in the audience who had lost her son, Peter. Peter had a message for her that he was well in the afterlife. The illness that plagued him in this life here, was gone and he was free of the constrictions of his body. Details were kinda vague, but it was apparent he had been disabled, I believe from birth? The thoughts of losing Teale have been stronger over the last few months than in any other time in recent history. Her sudden diagnosis of kidney failure had taken both Mark and I aback. Teale struggles with much both physically and mentally, but I would not consider her medically frail. The scariest medical issue is her seizure disorder and that has been stable for years. She has always been at risk, because of medications, mainly the Lithium, for extreme illness and even possible death, if she caught anything severe, like a flu. When we made the decision to put her on Lithium all those many years ago, we were intensely warned about illness. Teale's ability to fight a bad infection while on Lithium would be very difficult because of the way it can very quickly dehydrate a person. The flu, every year, has been a huge fear in our house. Her pediatrician and I have a very close relationship and he has been vigilant about Teale's care since the day I met him. So, at the slightest time of concern, it is him I contact. Dr Dave is our rock, he has returned texts on Sunday mornings, he has called me way late into the evening or much before office hours. The instructions have always been very clear since leaving the psychiatric hospitalization with Teale as a six year old, if she shows signs of any dehydrating illness, we are to go to the emergency room at Strong hospital ASAP. She can not afford to get dehydrated on Lithium because it would be a very quick decline into critical, if she did. The fear of the flu, every Winter, has haunted me and yet, somehow, we have kept her healthy! I could try to claim it's because I am such a good housewife and my house is free of germs, but anyone who knows me, would know I am BSing you. I am, though, pretty vigilant about hand washing. Leaving public places, in my car, etc, I use hand sanitizer often. Coming into our home, especially in the Winter/flu season, I push everyone to wash their hands before touching anything. My line has always been, "we can not afford for Teale to get the flu." It is one of the few ways I felt I could control the likelihood of an illness coming into my family. I doubt I will let up on that now that she is off Lithium, after all, it has possibly worked for ten years! Back to the women getting the message from her son. I was moved to tears listening to the message, everyone's biggest fear is to lose a child and it was obvious this loss was horrific and life changing for this woman. I remember memorizing her look, knowing I hoped to approach her and share a hug, one special needs Mom to another. The bond between parents like us is unspoken, but very unique, strong and real. Only "we" truly get the pain we feel on a daily basis. I so wanted to acknowledge this woman's loss and if she wanted to, hear more of her story. Unfortunately, that encounter would never happen, but that women in the yellow shirt, with short gray hair, has been on my mind much since.
~ to be continued....
~ to be continued....
