Hi Daina, Thank you SO much for sharing your story! Up until my divorce a few years ago I'd been a grateful dog owner my whole life. I absolutely adore them, and would own one now if my building permitted me to do so. In any case, I completely understand the joy and healing they provide, and have often referred to them as "angels with fur." I'm delighted for you that you're enjoying that type of bond now with your own angel!

FRAN!!! I have missed you, too!!! Boy, I really went A.W.O.L. didn't I? LOL!! Such a long (boring story) and so little point to sharing most of it here. Please do know, though, that despite my lack of communication, I honestly and truly HAVE thought of you dozens of times over the past couple of months and looked forward to reconnecting here (or am at least HOPING to reconnect here that is!) I would LOVE to hear about your signs from your son! Please do come back and tell me! I'll bet you've gotten more since that post in September too haven't you?! (And I'm also dying to hear how your reading went with Rondalafay!) Hoping for a chance to reconnect... Much love to you! Colleen

I love that story Jill! Thank you SO much for sharing that! What a fun, special way for what I'm sure was/IS a fun special lady to keep you and your cousin connected. Stories like yours really warm my heart. Thank you again!! Bright blessings, Colleen

Hi Brandy, I'm sure your Grandma IS with you...ESPECIALLY when you are depressed! Thank you for taking the time to share that! Bright blessings, Colleen

Hello Jeanette, I am SO sorry for the loss of your mother--especially at a time when you are clearly feeling otherwise burdened as well. I am neither a medium, nor one of the many other types of gifted psychics on this site...but for whatever it's worth, I believe your mother ABSOLUTELY is with you! The bond you shared with her in this life was clearly an intense one, and it's inconceivable to me that she would withhold her love and support NOW at this time in your life when you are clearly feeling overwhelmed (by the distance from your sons) and under-appreciated (by your partner) It seems to me that she's probably never far from you at all, because she's just as able to sense that need from her child as she was in the flesh. I wish I could give you definitive answers to your questions Jeanette, but as I said, I'm not a reader myself. I hope any of the CP readers who may "coincidentally" (not!) "happen upon this" thread in the next day or two (as I feel may happen)will feel free to jump in with their own thoughts on the matter for you. But for whatever my "lay" advice is worth: yes, I believe with all my heart your connection with your mother is as strong (if not oddly stronger) today as it was before she passed. The only advice I feel qualified to give is what has always worked for me: talk to her as if she's sitting right next to you. Ask her to give you a sign of her presence that you won't be able to mistake. Then just take a deep breath and BE. Don't try too hard to see or hear it. Just know that it's coming and that when it does, it'll be unmistakeable. Be kind to yourself during this grieving process Jeanette. I hope you can draw some strength from the knowledge that you are not alone! Bright blessings to you, Colleen

Hello Dianna, I'm so sorry for the loss of your parents--particularly the recent loss of your mom which as recent as it was, is, I'm sure, still very fresh for you. It certainly is a blessing that you are able to draw such support from your husband--what a wonderful thing indeed. Thank YOU for taking the time to share with me/us about your own experience with signs. I've no doubt your mom IS still around you--surrounding you with her love. I no longer question it when I have..."that feeling." You just KNOW when she's near, I'm sure. Trust that. And as more signs appear, I hope you'll consider sharing them here. Bright blessings, Colleen

Hi Gerrie, WOW what beautiful, powerful signs! I just LOVE the idea of you finding hearts like that! I can just imagine how you must have felt finding that huge perfect heart in the snow! Talk about miraculous! And the pewter heart out of seemingly nowhere? It's just amazing what they can do isn't it? Thank you SO much for sharing those stories--I just loved conjuring up the mental pictures you painted! And please, if when you find more of those hearts...would you consider sharing them here with us? Bright blessings, Colleen

Thank you, BJ. Under any circumstance, and for any reason I would certainly welcome your prayers (and those of anyone else kind enough to keep me in theirs) as I'm sure we can never be held in too many prayers! And please do not feel as if you burdened or "darkened" me with your advice at all. If, however, I shared something in my story that troubles you in some way, I do apologize. It sounds from your comment as though reading about my experience would be troublesome to you, which of course would never be my intent. In any case, I appreciate your well wishes and extend the same to you as well! Bright blessings to you, Colleen

You are most welcome, Silvia. Thank you for taking the time to comment!

Hello Missy, Yes, I believe they ARE always looking after us too! And wow what a special bond you share with your Dad! I got goosebumps when you described him calling out to you, letting you know he was OK! How powerful! Your loss is so very recent and no doubt still very fresh. I hope that you are being kind to yourself during this first holiday season without your dad, and trust that you will continue to receive meaningful confirmation from him that he is well and still with you. Thank you so much for sharing your story with me/us here! Love and light to you, Colleen

Kerry, My sincere condolences on your losses and my equally sincere congratulations to you on your 20 years of sobriety!!! What an inspiration you are Kerry! I spent this Thanksgiving w/out someone very precious to me because she is away claiming her sobriety for the first time. It is no coincidence that I was moved to check this blog for the first time in months and see your comment tonight. Here we are talking about signs and I feel YOU have just given me one...that it's OK to hold out hope for MY loved-one's sobriety. Thank you Kerry, from the bottom of my heart. And again...my condolences to you on the loss of your wife and father. I've no doubt they are equally as impressed with your continued commitment to your sobriety as all of us here. Bright blessings to you, Colleen

Hello Susan, I'm truly sorry for your losses. Music must make for a incredibly powerful connection indeed--how lovely for you! I can appreciate, too, what a blessing it certainly was to have that time (howsoever brief) with your mom before she passed. I, too, was fortunate in that way, and was blessed to be a primary caregiver to my mom during the several weeks between her release from the hospital with terminal cancer and her death at home. Caring for someone going through the dying process is a miraculous thing isn't it? There is no way to measure the value attached to the knowledge that no words were left unsaid. I understand how much you miss both your mom and your fiance. I hope you are being kind to yourself--particularly regarding your need to cry on a daily basis. Grief is such a personal thing and it takes as long as it takes. Be gentle with yourself this holiday season. Believe me, I understand extremely well how trying this time of year can be in particular. I was ten when I lost my dad 9 days before Christmas, and my mom died the very end of January so for years now the whole Christmas season in particular has been bittersweet for me. Please take whatever comfort you may in the knowledge that you are not alone in your grief. As I said, please just be gentle with yourself at this time and ask your loved ones to send you a special sign that you will be able to identify immediately. I've found that if I don't specify too much what TYPE of sign I'm looking for, and leave it to them to choose it, it's invariably something even more wonderful and unique to me and that other person on the other side than anything I could have conjured up myself. God bless you as well, Colleen

Hello Robin, First and foremost, please accept my condolences on the loss of your fiance and mother. With that said... Oh my goodness! Your experiences with Bill are so powerful! What an amazing bond you must have shared in this life for it to have continued so undeniably into the next. Thank you so much for sharing your own story--and yes, please, by ALL means do know you are NOT "going nuts"!! Love and light to you Robin, Colleen

Hello Sandra, You can't even begin to imagine how much your words mean to me right now at this moment! Believe me when I tell you that I'M the one who needs to be thanking YOU!! But that said, you are most, MOST welcome for any and all good you feel has come from reading my story. I could not be more delighted that it touched you. My heart goes out to you in the loss of your own brother. It goes without saying that I relate very well to the feelings of sadness and loss you have experienced. But yes, please DO know that he IS still with you--and no doubt reaching out to connect with you in very real (if "only" symbolic) ways. Please do too, if you feel so inclined and comfortable, share those experiences with us here. Sometimes the very act of writing them and sharing helps to crystalize the events and allow us to take even greater and more confident ownership of them--which in turn opens the door for more and more of them to follow. Your hug for me is (mentally) received, appreciated and now returned to YOU. Bright blessings to you (and a Happy Thanksgiving since there's still 10 minutes left of it before this day runs out! LOL) Colleen