I’m not sure if you believe in spirits or angels, but I have to write about what happened today. So once again, forgive my deviation from my marketing posts. Maybe someone can help me understand what happened as I really can’t explain it myself. Although I’m Catholic and believe in my religion, I wouldn’t say I am overly spiritual. But this event makes one sit back and truly wonder.

My dad lost his wedding ring last summer and was heartbroken. We looked everywhere in the yard, where he dumps clippings, and around the house. He looked, Kevin and I looked, and my friend Bob came by with a metal detector to help us look through the grass and brush. Nothing.

I kept praying that I would someday find it for Mom. And on the way over to her house today to run an errand, I was thinking again, please let me find this ring as a sign for Mom to know he is in peace.

So I got there, picked up some branches from the front yard from the storm this past weekend and went around the back to throw them into the woods. When I got there, as I have done each time, I stopped and stood quietly taking in the area to see if just by chance the ring would be visible. No such luck once again.

So I walked back through the yard and into the patio to enter the house, all the while thinking that I wish I could find that ring.

Now the strange thing about this situation is that Dad lost the ring in August and he looked everywhere for it, including all around the patio, and kept looking everytime he walked out there. He did some work in the area before he got sick, cleaning up the patio and pool. Pool maintenance guys came in October to cover the pool. The patio was full of leaves and the landscapers came at the end of November to clean up. They blew them out of the patio area into the yard to suck them up with the equipment. Kevin and I were there the other day putting hoses away and walking all through the patio. With all that activity, if the ring was there, you would think one of us would have notice.

But today, as I walked through the patio, laying right in the middle where I could not possibly miss it, shining in the sunlight, was his wedding ring. It was as if it were placed there by someone.

I started crying and laughing at the same time. I ran into the house yelling for Mom (scaring the living daylights out of her) and showed her the ring. We both started crying. She is wearing the ring on a chain next to her heart.

I wish I could explain how the ring got there, but all I can say is my prayers were answered.  Maybe it’s a gift from Dad to let us know he’s ok.

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Happy Family Memories

This is an off-topic post to briefly explain where I’ve been for the last three months. I wish I could say it was a wonderful adventure, but it was not. It was life at its worse, but it is life and we all experience it.

On November 10^th, my Dad passed away after two months of deteriorating health. My Dad lived with lymphoma for 15 years and to the doctors, that was amazing. To us, however, he died too soon. He was full of life, married to my Mom for over 61 years and never complained when he went for treatments.

The painful part for me was watching him go through these last two months. On September 1^st, he played golf with me and my husband at Marlborough Country Club. He had taken a medical leave this past year while he underwent treatment for his cancer which had returned for the 4^th time. He said he felt good and he proved it by shooting a 102. Not bad for someone 84 who had just finished chemo. In fact, he parred the two par threes on the back nine, one of which is the 18^th hole. When that happened, my Mom and the club pro were sitting in the player’s lounge watching him do it.

On September 2^nd, the four of us went to Foxwoods for Mom’s birthday, a bit early because she was scheduled for hip replacement on September 10^th. That night at dinner, he mentioned he was having trouble swallowing but thought nothing of it. From that point on, his health started a downward spiral that ended with him succumbing to pneumonia with all of us surrounding him at the hospital.

Little did we know at the time that it would be his last time he’d ever play golf or go to Foxwoods to play Texas Hold’um. However, he went out with a par, enjoying every minute of it. And he won some money in the poker game he was in. I am just thankful that I made the time for him that weekend, having been incredibly busy with clients. Had I said no to him, or not been able to clear a day to join them at Foxwoods, I would have had to live with that regret.

My Mom is trying to come to grips with what happened, blaming herself for not doing more, going through bouts of grief, anger, regret, and guilt. But she is managing to deal with it in her own way and I’m proud of her. She has known no one else in her life, dating Dad since she was 17. I visit her regularly to run errands, take her grocery shopping, help her pay bills and just make sure she’s doing ok. She still drives and she needs to keep her independence. One day when I stopped by, I found her at Dad’s desk, writing out checks.

For me, I’m trying to work myself back. I needed the week following the services to adjust, send thank you notes to those making the donation to the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or having masses said for him, and cleaning my office of the pictures I rummaged through to find the right ones for the collage boards.

Will I ever return to normal? Probably, but it will take time. The holidays will be hard or at least different. I need to get back to my business, but want to keep my workload at a manageable level so I have time for Mom and for me. Family matters come first and they have taken precedence over other areas of my life.

But that’s what life is about. It’s dealing with what gets thrown your way and coming out the other end stronger and more resilient. I have had to put many of the social media tools away for the time being and focus on getting through this. But I do want to get back into blogging, Twittering and following those of you who have taught me a great deal. Although my business is strong and thriving, I’m sure my personal brand has lost some of its sparkle. Providing fresh, relevent content to my readers is critical. So bear with me a little longer. I promise I’ll be back.

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