by Carolyn A. Romano, BLISS Healing Arts
May/June 2008
The last time I saw my father's mother in person was Tuesday, April 18, 2006, the same day Dad had surgery for a condition which ultimately killed him. I remember sitting in the kitchen with Grandma, Gramps, my mom, and my uncle Harold discussing my dad's surgery. After a while, the conversation shifted, and Grandma asked Gramps to get the jewelry boxes out of the closet. Apparently, she'd been sorting her belongings into separate containers so there would be no confusion about how to distribute, once she passed away, the many necklaces, bracelets, rings, and pins she so lovingly wore.
Gramps returned carrying a stack of tin containers of various shapes and sizes. Names written in magic marker on pieces of masking tape were affixed to the tops. Grandma shot out an eager command, "Find me the heart with the diamonds. I want Carolyn to have it." We all began searching a tin until ultimately she found what she was looking for in the container over which she presided. The pendant was about the size of a quarter, heart-shaped and outlined in tiny, sparkling diamonds, another small diamond tucked lovingly inside the heart's center. It floated on a delicate chain of white gold.
She then told me, "This pendant was a gift from your great, great Aunt Jo for my birthday in 1967. A few weeks prior, Aunt Jo slipped on my basement stairs and broke her ankle. She stayed with me so I could care for her while she recuperated. During this time, she asked Frank, your father, to buy something for me since my birthday was coming up and she wanted to thank me for helping her. Your father bought this pendant for her to give to me. Unfortunately, Aunt Jo died five days before my birthday and instead of celebrating, we laid Aunt Jo to rest on my birthday. Your father gave me the pendant after the funeral. How I cried! Aunt Jo and I were so close; wearing this pendant is a way I've stayed connected with her. Now, I want you to have it. May you find your heart's desire."
I was touched by the gift and even today struggle to find the words to express just how deeply. Four generations of my family held the "heart with the diamonds" pendant in their hands - Great Great Aunt Jo, Grandma Jo, my father Frank, and now me. My grandmother died on August 25, 2007, at the age of 86, a little more than five weeks after my father passed away, and more than a year after I last hugged her and first held that pendant in my own hands. Now, each morning once I've secured the pendant's clasp around my neck, I hold the heart in my hands, say a silent good morning to those who have gone before, and ask that they help me to be guided to my heart's desire by the even greater heart that connects us all.
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream." --Paulo Coelho
If you are interested in understanding and examining the events in your life from other perspectives with the goal of effecting positive change, energy work and shamanic coaching might be for you. Contact Carolyn for your free, 30-minute consultation in person or over the phone. 508-481-2547 or blisscenter@comcast.net
