My Little Shadow

1

"Bye guys, have a good day at school!"

"Bye Mumma!"

"Have a good day, Mum!"

Carly and Rudy got into the truck with their Dad and I waved as he backed out of the driveway. There was a few weeks left in the school year, and then both kids were off to new experiences. Carly would be in grade nine in the fall and Rudy in grade seven. High school and middle school. I was trying to figure where the time went. It felt like last week they were little kids still watching Sesame Street; now it was Avengers movies and anime.

Bogey, our three-year-old Doberman Pinscher, walked around the yard on his morning patrol. There was not one stone unturned as he made sure all was well in our little world. Something warm and fuzzy brushed against my legs and I glimpsed a black and grey streak heading into the garden. I smiled.

"Hey Lexi! Came for a visit today, did you?"

Lexi was the grey tabby we found panting in the heat by our front steps last year. She couldn't walk and a trip to the vet told us her injuries were consistent with being hit by a car. There was nothing we could do for her because her back end was irreparable, so we gathered around and loved her until she passed.

Lexi, the beautiful soul she was, came back to visit us every once in a while and we loved having her around. It might alarm most people to have the spirit of a dead cat visiting them, but it was part and parcel for me. As a medium, someone who communicated with and saw spirits of those who had passed, not much phased me anymore.

"Bogey! Let's Go! Come on, Lexi. Mumma's got work to do this morning." I led the parade of pets, living and dead, into the house.

A nice breeze blew through the house as I put together a proposal for a small legal firm, outlining my vision for their new website.

While building my website design business, I worked with spirit. Being a medium meant I was sometimes at the mercy of dead people, but I saw it as speaking for those who can't speak for themselves.

Geordie came in from dropping the kids to school at half-past nine and headed right into his bat cave, the cool basement on a warm day, to get some work done. I blew him a kiss as he closed the door and left me to my work.

Beep Beep Beep

The alarm on my phone chimed off. It was ten o'clock and time to get ready for my appointment at eleven. Spirit led me to work as a spiritual counsellor to the living, passing messages and wisdom on from the other side. It was time to get ready for my next session, Wendy's arrival was imminent.

As I tidied my desk, I felt this overwhelming urge to use my mugwort smudge stick to smudge the energy of the entire house. I did the office both before and after sessions, but today I felt the need to do the entire house. Not one to ignore when spirit gave me a nudge, I grabbed my mugwort wand, abalone shell and wild turkey feathers to get the job done right.

Today was Wendy's first session since she went on vacation a month ago. That may be why I felt the urge to smudge the house, to freshen it up for her return.

Cleansing the energy is never a bad thing, so I didn't question it.

The mugwort was still smoking in its shell when the doorbell rang. Bogey ran to the door, barking.

"Hi Sarah! Good to see you. And Bogey! How's my good boy? Did you miss me?"

Bogey seemed to wag his tail clear off his rear end as he greeted Wendy, who pulled out treats to give him.