Ding Goes My Heartstrings

A Facebook friend of mine who lost her young daughter to melanoma posted about a broken alarm clock that somehow would occasionally sound its alarm, like when the family was all gathered around the Thanksgiving table with the dreaded empty chair or when the conversation turned to memories of their daughter. I responded that this didn't sound at all unusual to me ... because since the death of our daughter Jaime at age 29 of melanoma, we have a chatty ceiling fan.

This is the ceiling fan in our bedroom. Looks like your typical fan, right? Well, on occasion, it becomes, believe it or not, Jaime's means of communication ... her way to say hello or in some cases, not often but more often than we like, to keep us awake all night.

You see those two short chains with the metal bobs on the ends? Somehow she gets them to knock against the glass globes, causing a loud DING. Sometimes it is just one ding (and I can smile and say "Good night, Jaime! I love you" as I roll over). 

                      (You may need to turn up the volume on your computer to hear the dings here)

Other times she is chatty and keeps it going with DING, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING ... (and I guarantee that in the middle of the night it is not so entertaining!).

Sometimes she goes for a long time without showing off her talent -- months or even years; sometimes she makes it happen several times a week. Sounds weird, right? We just say "Jaime's here! Hi, baby girl!" and let that ceiling fan warm our hearts with Jaime's DINGY thing!!! Bizarre is our new norm!
 
For you doubters, the dings came at all times of the day or night, in all seasons, in all weather, with windows open or closed, with fan on all speeds. My engineer-minded husband has tried to logically figure it out but had to conclude that it was Jaime.
 
The last time we heard the dings was over a year ago. I remember the last time because her dinging did not stop. It seemed that she was really excited about something or really agitated. The dinging continued throughout the day and the night. I told her that we needed our sleep ... yes, I'm the crazy old lady who talks to ceiling fans ... but it continued through the second night, at which time my husband flipped the switch to turn off the fan. Finally, sleep!

But when we turned it back on the next day, only quiet came from that fan. And that is all we have heard from it for more than a year.  I don't know what she was trying to tell us, if anything. I don't know if we pissed her off by shutting down her means of communications. I do know that I miss those dings, and every day I hope for their return.

[UPDATE July 2022: It has been a few years since I wrote this blog and another before that (When Angels Speak) since Jaime's last ding. But I'm more than delighted to report that in mid July 2022, as I was recuperating from my final chemo treatment for breast cancer, my husband and I heard one single ding come from this fan. Just one. But to me it said so much. It said "I'm still around and always will be. I've watched your struggle with cancer and I'm proud of you. Can you feel my love? Can you feel the strength I'm sending you?" Yes, baby girl, I can ...]


Melanoma Mama (Jaime's mom, Donna)

http://www.facebook.com/donna.h.regen
http://www.facebook.com/jaime.regen.rea (Remember Jaime)

http://www.facebook.com/BanTheBeds (Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)
http://stores.ebay.com/Sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)  

https://www.facebook.com/jjemcreations/ (Jjem Creations)

When Angels Speak

When my 29-year-old daughter Jaime died from melanoma (caused by her tanning bed habit), people told me to watch for signs from her. I was skeptical, as I'm sure that many of you reading this are, but in the almost 10 years since her death, I have seen enough to make me a believer. At some point, you don't question -- you just listen when angels speak!

I'm not sure when I stopped trying to logically explain unusual events and just accepted that my Jaime was the responsible party. Perhaps it was when I put a bouquet of flowers in the vase of her headstone. Yes, I did notice that there was one white carnation in it, and yes, I did know that Jaime hated carnations, but I didn't think it would matter. The next day when we returned to her grave, the flower arrangement was untouched ... except that the white carnation was lying on the ground and had been flattened.

Or perhaps it was when her dad and I and her brother Tim were sitting in our backyard, and we were joined by hundreds of beautiful butterflies. Or maybe it was when I was filming a PSA about Jaime and the dangers of tanning when a strange tapping on the glass behind me stopped everything, which turned out to be a dog that wasn't even supposed to be there. Or could it have been when our front yard was covered with little white feathers and the neighbors' yards had none?



And the list goes on and on and on ...






Most recently, my husband and I were visiting Las Vegas and were in a hotel lobby. Now before going any further with this story, I need to give you some background. Jaime had a little blonde chihuahua named Peanut. She had rescued Peanut from a puppy mill, and they adored each other.

Okay, back to my story! Into the lobby walks a young couple with a little blonde chihuahua prancing along on a leash. The instant the puppy spotted me she dropped to her belly and scooted across the lobby floor until she reached my feet, never losing eye contact with me. She then stopped and just looked up at me. The young couple was baffled by their dog's behavior, saying that she had never done this before. I leaned over and petted her head ... and then poof, the magic was over. She just got up and trotted away without looking back. I knew what was happening and so did my husband, and we could only smile at each other and softly whisper "Jaime."

Now perhaps you are thinking that this was just some bizarre dog behavior and had nothing to do with a sign from beyond, and I get that. But in the past 10 years, bizarre events seems to be attracted to me, so I know that little puppy was delivering a message from my very special angel ... that she was thinking of me and loved me and that there was no way I was going to do Vegas without her!

Melanoma Mama (Jaime's mom, Donna)

http://www.facebook.com/donna.h.regen
http://www.facebook.com/jaime.regen.rea (Remember Jaime)

http://www.facebook.com/BanTheBeds (Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)
http://stores.ebay.com/Sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)