28 Days Ago
At 6:45 January 2nd, 2019, our daughter, Jessica Heath, passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 34. In the days and weeks since, a lot of tears have been shed. After her service my husband, Floyd, and I traveled to warm and sunny Mexico to visit with family. (Thank you Jim and Tawnya.). This was a particularly special time away for us to rest, reconnect and reflect over the past 14 months since her rediagnosis.
I recently sat with a friend over several cups of tea and many tissues. She shared her spiritual message with me that included signs to look for that Jess was thinking of me and I was thinking of her. Not surprisingly, I was already experiencing these signs. While we were in Mexico having dinner at an Italian restaurant there was a musician playing an electric keyboard. We heard not one, but two songs from her service. Several times when our group was talking about Jessica a butterfly appeared. It didn't just fly by, but once it hung on to the side of a cup as if it was part of the conversation.
The most impactful message for me was on the flight home from Mexico. To back up, I must include some background info from October on the day Jessica had her last MRI. It was that day she was told that there was no more treatment the doctor could offer and she was referred to Hospice. This was the day after my birthday when Floyd and I were traveling home from Florida. When I got the news I cried all the way home. The flight attendant quietly asked Floyd if I was alright. He replied that we had just gotten some bad news.
Due to some winter weather at home during our trip to Mexico we decided to extend our stay an additional two days which required changing airline carriers. On our connection from Mexico City to Detroit we had the same flight attendant that took care of us back in October. At first when I shared this info she didn't remember that day. I was not surprised as she sees so many passengers. A few minutes later she came back to us and recalled the day, remembering us. I went on to explain that we had just gotten the news about Jessica's condition in October, that she had recently passed away and we were returning from a restful trip with family. She was incredibly attentive for the remainder of the flight. When we deplaned, she passed me a beautiful note of sympathy. I felt like I closed a circle; explaining for her why I was emotional on that day. We don't always know the reasons why people do what they do and I felt this was important to put to rest for myself. After all, we weren't scheduled to be on that flight and yet "somehow" we were meant to be on that flight.
