Today is the first full day of the First Annual Helping Parents Heal conference. Nearly 500 parents from around the globe are gathered in Scottsdale, AZ. The one thing we have in common is we have each experienced the greatest tragedy that can befall someone, the passing of one or more of our children. Tom Zumba, our after dinner keynote speaker, has had an 18 month old daughter, 13 year old son and 43 year old wife precede him. How is this guy even walking around? I am in awe of these people.
The first speaker of the day is Suzanne Giesemann. I consider Suzanne to be a personal friend, more like a family member since meeting her 14 months ago at a weekend workshop she led with my buddy Mark Pitstick. Suzanne is not only one of the best mediums in the world, she has as high a level of integrity as anyone I have ever met. She gave us a reading after the conference and has called or texted several times since to tell us that Shayna has dropped in on her with a message for us. We met Suzanne in person again 7 months ago at this same hotel where she spoke to AREI. At this conference, I have seen almost all of the presenters before and have personal relationships with many of them. For several of us attendees, and some presenters, this is our third time together in 14 months. We are in daily communication with many of them. This is more like a family reunion than a conference.
I have seen Suzanne present several times before both live and via video conferencing. She has told some us to not miss her 8 AM on Saturday morning keynote because it’s going to be something special. I know Suzanne’s presentation skills. So, when she says that I know it’s going to be truly amazing.
What ensues is probably the single best presentation I have ever seen with evidence for the afterlife. Suzanne is not a natural born medium, like many of the mediums here. She did not see spirit at a young age, have an NDE that gave her the gift, or anything of the sort. Suzanne began her quest for making this connection after her daughter Susan, who was six months pregnant, was struck and killed by lightning. Suzanne has worked long and hard to get where she is and I have been witness to her growth over the last 14 months. It’s inspiring. I feel like Suzanne is a kindred spirit.
Suzanne has woven together a creation story of how and why we as souls incarnate in the first place and magic that binds us all together. She brings together absolutely unbelievable evidence that she has a connection with our kids in the Everlife (a term coined by Sanaya, her spirit team). She is using a happy thought bubble, just a little happy thought image as the theme for her presentation. It triggers a connection for me immediately.
If I didn’t know Suzanne and if the parents of most of the kids she has used in her presentation were not present in the room I might think she was making some of this up. The evidence that our kids are not only alive and well, but are still involved in our day to day mundane lives is undeniable. She tells stories of child after child who has come to her in readings saying “I’m still right here, and I can prove it.” Some of these stories I know because she has reported them contemporaneously. Some of them are about kids of our friends. Heidi’s Grace, Tracy’s Aymen- we tease Heidi about being an awful sitter for a reading. We support Tracy as her beloved Aymen appears. Their shining faces appear on the screen as part of the narrative. These are true messages of hope.
I haven’t looked at my watch, but the end of the presentation is approaching. I can sense her coming to the conclusion. The stories were grouped together to form themes. Shayna has been in many of Suzanne’s presentations since making some incredible drop ins on Suzanne, but it looks like she’s not going to be in this one. I’m a little disappointed, but OK with it. Suzanne’s got a lot of material in here I have never seen. You can only fit so many stories into a presentation. Shayna has probably been edited our. She didn’t make the cut. It’s all right. And, the happy thought bubble was really cool anyway because that reminded me of one of Shayna’s drop ins on Suzanne.
I’m thinking about the next presentation when I see Shayna’s beautiful face appear on the screen in front of my eyes. Suzanne has saved Shayna for last and she did recognize the connection to the happy thought bubble that the volleyball presented to us after Shayna transitioned. It hangs above the sink in the kitchen. Shayna showed a vision of it to Suzanne who had no idea what it was just that it was a small orb that reflected light and was kind of like a Christmas ornament.
Suzanne goes on to share another drop in Shayna did on her and maybe something else. I don’t know because by this point I am sobbing uncontrollably and can’t listen. I knew my emotions would well over at some point this weekend. The weekend began yesterday with a slideshow of our kids faces. I could not watch. Other parents were looking for their kids’ faces. I typically look at pictures of Shayna in private.
As the tears are flowing and my lip is quivering, I realize my tears are not only because I miss my Beautiful Light. I am bursting with pride. I think back to when Tywana and Shayna would argue about whether Shayna would be famous some day. Shayna would say no. Tywana would say yes. Shayna had already had her picture in Ebony magazine. From the night she was born we knew she was a force to be reckoned with. The nurses told us we had our hands full. When she was two years old I said “I hope she uses her power for good, not for evil.” 18 years later, after her transition, here she is, a featured part of Suzanne Giesemann’s keynote presentation to nearly 500 people and live-streaming out to the world. I know, with absolutely no doubt, that my baby is still kicking butt and taking names from where she is now. She is cheering us on here and leading us. She is still sending ripples out into this world.
In the following hours I finish up the rest of the presentations and head back to the room to meditate. I listen to one of Suzanne’s mediumship training meditations and try to tune into Shayna. And, she comes to me. I’ve been thinking of how I’m going to avoid the graduation parties coming up. This would be her senior year. I can’t bring myself to go. Then, it hits me. This is Shayna’s graduation celebration. This entire week in Arizona is because of her. I am having a graduation party with her with my new family. She has graduated, as have all our children. Their lessons in Earth school behind them, they have gone on to do their work from the Other Side. I could not be more proud of what she has accomplished and continues to accomplish. And I am honored to be a part of it.
