Today is Darcy’s Gotcha Day. Mum remembers it well like it was yesteryear. It was 12 years ago when a fluff ball flew past Mum and ran from room to room checking out her new pad.
This is the second Gotcha Day that we are without Darcy. But I know she is still with us every day since then. We do wonder if she is happy and if she is well.
Well, Mum recently received some news. I’ll let her tell you all about it.
May’s comment: The weeks before Darcy’s passing, I was watching Ricky Gervais’ Netflix series, After Life. I had purposefully kept my emotions in check ever since I knew she was ill because I didn’t want her to worry. Though she was tired and maybe wondered why her body didn’t want to do much any more, I don’t think she knew she was dying. But she had seen me cry a whole lot of times when watching telly and so I used that as an excuse. And that was the only time I allowed myself to cry in her presence during the last weeks of her life.
I cried because I was relating to the desperate loss felt by Gervais’ character. Having grown up in a Christian home, there was never a doubt in my mind that there is life after death. But somehow, when Darcy passed, I wanted some form of reassurance that there is indeed an After Life. Because if there is one, then I know it was not a complete loss – that it would be a matter of time till we’re together again.
When people say, you believe what you want to believe. I couldn’t. There were times when I felt Darcy had sent me signs, or was it me imagining all these “messages from beyond”? I don’t know.
A few weeks ago, when having lunch with Ruby and Mabel, she told me about a certain energy card reader. I have in the past dipped in and out of meeting with these spiritual beings. I don’t call them fortune tellers because they really offer supportive, intuitive and insightful guidance about this moment in time. The reading can be a catalyst for a transformational event or perhaps offer different perspective to a current situation.
I had a lot on my mind – about the future and questions about my ongoing “projects”. There have been thoughts about moving cities, countries, etc. As much as I wanted to hear what she had to say, I remained skeptical.
The spiritual card reader, Emma began by saying – a man and a woman had come forth. I’ve never had that said to me before. I asked, “Why?” She replied, “Because we are having a reading!” She sounded incredulous that I should ask such a question. She ignored my comment and began telling me what she was reading. After a few moments, she identified the man and woman – “The woman who is speaking is your mum and the quiet man is your dad.” That sounded just like them. So what did that mean?
Then Emma uttered her next sentence, “The woman has a dog with her.” She got my attention. And I immediately envisioned my Mum with Darcy standing side by side eager to let me know that they have found each other.
Emma asked, “Have you recently lost a dog?”
“Yes,” I murmured, as I welled up and my voice quivered.
“She meant a lot to you, didn’t she? Your mum is taking care of your dog now.”
“Is she ok?”
“Yes, she is better.”
Oh, she told me lots of other things but nothing mattered. If everything else that she said will come true, that would be fine. Great, in fact. I did not enter the session with any questions about Darcy – so the unexpected news was the best thing she could have told me.
It is so like my Mum that when there is something that would make me happy, she would be so eager to tell me. She obviously knew how much Darcy meant to me, so at the first instance, she came forward.
And her taking care of Darcy, that’s what parents do – they will always look after what’s important to their children.
And then I realised that it wasn’t just Darcy that Mum and Dad were looking after. Because surely, they have my sister’s Molly too. They must have been right there to greet them both as they crossed over. And I am sure Molly and Darcy knew immediately they were Grandma and Grandpa.
Do I believe there is life after death? I believe our spirits live on. Because we are limited by what we know, and we expect the next world to look just like the one we know now we are holding onto a vision in our minds of how it will be.
We can’t hold on forever to those we love. But to know that she is safe and well … and that she is with Mum and Dad just makes it all a little better.
So HAPPY Earthly GOTCHA Day, Darcy. Aside from the day you were born, this was the other significant day in our lives together. For this is was the day when my life turned upside down and then right side up and better.
I suppose I should look at the day you passed as the day Mum and Dad GOTCHA.
