When I see a smiley face, I know it is a sign from my mom, letting me know she is with me. Feathers and cardinals are my dad, smiley faces are my mom.
Marc and I went camping this past weekend. My mom and Joe used to camp all the time. This past spring, Joe opened up their camper only to find that it had sustained major water damage over the winter. The insurance company totaled it and it is no longer. It’s funny how these things happen. After Mom died, Joe went camping a couple of times. It obviously was not the same without her. So isn’t it strange that their camper was ruined.
Mom had these Happy Camper lights that they hung every camping trip. Big yellow smiley faces. All of her grandchildren knew the “Happy Camper” lights. They were just “Mam”. As I was packing for our camping trip, I thought of those lights. I wondered if Joe would let me borrow them. So I shot him a text message. And he dug them out for me.
Marc thought they were great! He strung them on the camper for me. And they made me smile. I know she would be happy that I am enjoying life the way she would have. We sat by the fire, looking at the Happy Camper lights. I was telling Marc they must be at least 20 years old. Curious, I once again texted Joe and asked him how old they were. “Wicked old. We bought those when we were camping in a tent. My guess would be 33 years.” Wow.
The campground was on a non-profit oceanfront farm in Maine, so there was lots to do and see. We went on a bike ride through the whole farm on Saturday. Checking out the greenhouses, I noticed the “hen house” had some painting on the side of it. Guess what it was? Smiley faces. Of course, I smiled. And took a picture.
Sunday morning, I went up to the showers. There were 7 or 8 separate stalls. I randomly chose one. I closed and latched the door and put my belongings down on the stool. And there, carved into the wood, was a smiley face.
These little smiles from Heaven bring me so much comfort, knowing that my mom is with me on this adventure called life. She may not be here physically, but spiritually and in my heart, she is always here, making her presence known. Smiling down on me. And it makes missing her a little bit easier to bear.
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