PaulsMom
01-16-2003, 11:07 PM
"Crossing Over" with John Edward - Our Reading
Hello Everyone:
Hubby and I had an amazing experience on Tuesday, Jan. 14th. As most of you know we attended the "Crossing Over" show with John Edward in New York. I'd like to pass on all the wonderful things we experienced but I warn you this will be a long read! Hope you don't get bored.
I'm going to number things in the order that they happened - this is somewhat for your benefit, but mostly to help me keep my thoughts together as there was so much to absorb. I will put my thoughts and/or significance to what he said in brackets so you don't get confused.
1. The night before the show, I dreamt of the number 4 all night long. I couldn't connect it to anything significant in our lives so I forgot all about it....until we were standing in line outside the studio the next day. Each group of people (ours was a group of 4) was given a card with a number on it. This is to help the staff seat you. Well, we were given a card with the number 44 on it. I knew this was a sign and that we were going to get a reading from John.
2. After a long and very COLD wait in the line outside, they finally let us in in groups of 20. Security is very high and it takes a while to get everyone in. We were seated in the gallery and waited anxiously for John to appear.
3. He was finally introduced and had to do several intros to be used for upcoming shows as well as some comments on various segments which haven't aired yet. In other words, we had to wait awhile before he started reading in the gallery. I noticed John's energy right away. It's something that comes right out at you! He is constantly moving and fidgeting with his rings! He couldn't wait to get started and when the producer asked him to do "just one more intro", he refused and said "No, I have to get started right away".
4. John focussed on one area of the gallery for over 2 hours and we thought "he's never going to come over here to our side". We were getting discouraged thinking that time was probably going to be up soon and we wouldn't get a reading until......he came right over to our section and pointed to our row and said "someone here has lost a son". I instantly put my hand up. Then John said "it happened in the last three years" (the three year mark of our son's death was just 2 weeks ago). My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I thought for sure it would pop right out!!
5. The next message he said was specifically for mom (me) and it was this: "Tell mom I am with Grandfather". (Now this is very significant because my father in law died in 1984 and Paul never met him in this life, so I always doubted the fact that they would be together whereas my husband always believed it. So I think Paul wanted to reassure me that is was in fact true and I need not worry anymore).
5 (a) John said to say hello to "brother"....a friend who is like a brother. (This has to be for David, our godson who was very close with Paul and always referred to him as his "brother".)
6. The next message was "Thank you for conversation with the wall. You didn't have to, but he understands". (One of his last requests was that we make sure his name was on the donor wall in Sick Kids Hospital where he was treated for 3 1/2 years. We did, in fact make a substantial donation to have a plaque put up on this wall...the plaque reads "A Tribute to Paul Gismondi". Of course, whenever anyone who knows us visits the hospital, they also go visit the 'wall' as we have in the past and I know that conversations DO take place.)
7. John told us that "Pat" or "Patrick" was significant but Paul had no friends by that name and we have no family immediate family by that name. (The only thing I can relate to this and it didn't hit me until we arrived home is....we visited a famous church while in New York twice and lit a candle for him both times, once was the very night before the show!...the name of the church is St. Patrick's)
8. Throughout the reading John kept saying "one of three"...."he is saying he is one of three". (We couldn't relate to that as we only have 2 children. But we used to joke around all the time saying that our little dog was our 2nd daughter so we're thinking that this was his way of including himself, his sister and his dog as our "children".
9. He mentioned the names "Lisa" or "Lee".....(The only thing we could think of is a family friend named Lisa who owns a little cafe near our family cottage. She had offered Paul a job to work there the next summer and that's all he talked about. He was so excited about it, but unfortunately did not live to see the summer. This might be a bit of a stretch but it's the only thing we could relate to the name.)
10. John said something about 4 pictures of him that were published. (There were a couple of articles about him in our local paper and also his school yearbook included a tribute to him, but more research on our part will have to be done to get to the bottom of this one....and by the way....there's the number 4 yet again!)
11. The name "John" or "Joe" came up during John's reading. (My father is Joe and my nephew is Joseph, named after him. This was definitely another validation....a huge one!
12. The 19th or 20th....John wasn't sure which. (My husband's birthday is on the 20th of January....and is just 6 days after the show taping. I'm sure Paul was acknowledging his dad's birthday.)
13. John told us "he is the only son"..."he's the one". (This is true, Paul was our only son. We also have a beautiful daughter. But as far as the "he's the one" phrase...we think this is in reference to him being the last one in Canada from my husband's lineage carrying our surname. There are others in Europe but he was the "one" here in Canada).
14. John said "you said it was o.k. to leave....he heard you...it was unconditional". (Paul and I had a conversation a few weeks before he died where we talked about heaven and what we thought it would be like. I believe he took this as meaning it was o.k. with me that he had to "leave". It is what I meant.....but it was just too difficult to say the exact words.)
15. At this point, John started talking about a child who was in I.C.U.....a baby who had been born then passed before it was 6 months old. (That was not significant to us at all). Then he mentioned the names "Heather" and "Helen" (again no significance for us). It was for the people sitting right behind us and John talked to them for awhile and he said to them "you can thank these people's son for bringing your family through". So, Paul had brought through their loved ones for a bit.
16. John's attention was once again turned back to us. Paul did not want to leave yet! John said "he died of Aids......no....it was leukemia". (That is correct...Paul died of leukemia).
17. John said "he was not of clear mind right before passing". (This is true. Paul was on oxygen, he was confused and medicated, was there in body, but we feel his spirit was in the "other" place hours before he died).
18. John told us "you have his wristband or watch". He kept pointed to his wrist while saying this. (Every day, my husband wears a very special silver bracelet which belonged to Paul. We had his initials put on it after he died).
19. John said "he was not afraid....he spoke with a religious person". (In fact, my first cousin is a Catholic priest and did speak to Paul on a few different occasions, one being only 3 weeks before he died).
20. John said "he was strong and optimistic....he prepared others". (For those of you who know Paul....this is the truest thing John said to us. He was at peace with his fate and accepted it totally. He was only worried about those of us who would be left behind.)
21. John said something about the anniversary of his death which had just passed and how I read something that night and that "he was there with you all". (This is in fact true. We had a mass on the 3rd anniversary of his death just two weeks before and I read 3 poems out loud, two of which I had written for him myself).
22. John mentioned another families' son (younger than Paul) who is with him. He said to tell this other family that he was "on the case" looking after him. (We related this to a good friend who helped us during our deepest, darkest weeks and months of grief after our son's death. She, too lost a son a few years prior and he was, in fact, younger than Paul. Her and I always talk about how we hoped they were together. I'm sure he was referring to Stefan here).
23. The names "Ryan" and "Brian" came up. (Can't find the connection here yet).
24. He said to "say hello to the people on the internet". (I took this as meaning some dear friends from Northern Ontario who we met during our stays at the hospital. We all became very good friends very quickly and still maintain the relationship to this day. Our main way of communicating is through the internet.)
25. John was speaking directly to me when he said something about "being on the board of something and being asked to speak.....it is very important". (I work for a local Hospice and just recently was asked to attend a high school gathering where a cheque was being presented to our organization. I was, in fact, asked to speak here and most likely will be doing more of this in the future).
26. John told us that there was a "parallel to our son and his grandfather who was with him". In fact, Paul's middle name is the same as his grandfathers first name and that is definitely the parallel.) He also said that "grandfather passed first and greeted him". (My husband swears he heard Paul call out for his grandfather at the time of his passing.)
27. "You took him to feed the animals...you had to travel to this place". (We did take the kids to Marineland many years ago. There were deer running free and I was afraid to let Paul near then as he was so young. But he insisted on feeding them so we gave in.)
28. John talked about "someone being out on the water and a great concern for getting back to shore". (I explained to John that my father almost drowned many years ago. He got caught in an undertow. A friend he was with had helped to save him). John explained that "grandson said to talk about the 'push'....and no surrender". John said to tell my dad that the 'push' he felt when he was being saved and the happiness he felt was the same as what he, himself felt when he was dying. That he was being "pushed" home and that he was very happy about it. John said "grandson has a big 'push' too". (I think this is self explanatory).
29. John said the number 16 was significant. I tried to relate it to a birthday....or a date of some kind....until I remember that Paul would be 16 years old now. (again, self explanatory....I distinctly remember the audience gasping when I said this).
30. John mentioned "a rose broach". (Can't figure this one out yet). Our daughter seems to think they might have put a rose broach in my Christmas stocking one year. I don't recall it and will have to search high and low for this.)
31. "Grandma needs to watch health....this needs to be addressed". (This was very meaningful because my mother has very bad arthritis in her knees and she had one knee replacement surgery before Paul's passing. The doctors told her the other one would have to be done as well and Paul made her promise to do it. She still has not had it done. Mom cried when she heard this message from her grandson.)
32. John talked about "the other house being purchased". (We did sell our home since Paul's passing).
33. One particular incident which was directly entirely at my husband is quite funny. Prior to the show, my husband was very concerned about where to keep his reading glasses. He didn't have a pocket in his shirt and he didn't want to hang them over his shirt collar cause it just wouldn't look good on t.v. So he decided to keep them in his pant pocket hoping they wouldn't get squished. John said to him "ohh dad....he says "Where are your glasses"?
34. John told us he saw a hockey game that Paul was invited to and there is a photo of him which shows the team's emblem. (In fact, Paul attended the Leaf's game, invited by the teams goalie, Curtis Joseph, to sit in his private box. We have a picture of Paul, his sister Vanessa and the team mascot is in the middle wearing a team jersey. This occured just a month prior to his passing).
35. The very last thing John said was "have fun at the wedding". (Now you have to know that Paul absolutely LOVED weddings and there is a family wedding coming up in just a few months.)
Whatever got us to go to this show is a powerful force! I had to be lucky enough to get through on the phone line, which took me over 2 1/2 hours. Next I had to receive the call back from the show saying I had gotten tickets. Then we had to get ourselves to New York. And lastly, out of 215 audience members and only 10 readings, we were among the chosen who got read. All these forces came together in order for us to receive this precious gift. My husband summed it all up.....he said "Now I know for sure that he is always with us". So, this ends the quest for validation. We are at peace knowing he is here.....even though we can't see him.
Was anyone else at the January 14th taping? Just curious...
Thank you all for your good wishes. If anyone wants to clarify something or comment on this thread, please feel free to do so. I welcome any and all responses....again thank you all.
Sincerely,
Connie
(Pauls Mom)
Hello Everyone:
Hubby and I had an amazing experience on Tuesday, Jan. 14th. As most of you know we attended the "Crossing Over" show with John Edward in New York. I'd like to pass on all the wonderful things we experienced but I warn you this will be a long read! Hope you don't get bored.
I'm going to number things in the order that they happened - this is somewhat for your benefit, but mostly to help me keep my thoughts together as there was so much to absorb. I will put my thoughts and/or significance to what he said in brackets so you don't get confused.
1. The night before the show, I dreamt of the number 4 all night long. I couldn't connect it to anything significant in our lives so I forgot all about it....until we were standing in line outside the studio the next day. Each group of people (ours was a group of 4) was given a card with a number on it. This is to help the staff seat you. Well, we were given a card with the number 44 on it. I knew this was a sign and that we were going to get a reading from John.
2. After a long and very COLD wait in the line outside, they finally let us in in groups of 20. Security is very high and it takes a while to get everyone in. We were seated in the gallery and waited anxiously for John to appear.
3. He was finally introduced and had to do several intros to be used for upcoming shows as well as some comments on various segments which haven't aired yet. In other words, we had to wait awhile before he started reading in the gallery. I noticed John's energy right away. It's something that comes right out at you! He is constantly moving and fidgeting with his rings! He couldn't wait to get started and when the producer asked him to do "just one more intro", he refused and said "No, I have to get started right away".
4. John focussed on one area of the gallery for over 2 hours and we thought "he's never going to come over here to our side". We were getting discouraged thinking that time was probably going to be up soon and we wouldn't get a reading until......he came right over to our section and pointed to our row and said "someone here has lost a son". I instantly put my hand up. Then John said "it happened in the last three years" (the three year mark of our son's death was just 2 weeks ago). My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I thought for sure it would pop right out!!
5. The next message he said was specifically for mom (me) and it was this: "Tell mom I am with Grandfather". (Now this is very significant because my father in law died in 1984 and Paul never met him in this life, so I always doubted the fact that they would be together whereas my husband always believed it. So I think Paul wanted to reassure me that is was in fact true and I need not worry anymore).
5 (a) John said to say hello to "brother"....a friend who is like a brother. (This has to be for David, our godson who was very close with Paul and always referred to him as his "brother".)
6. The next message was "Thank you for conversation with the wall. You didn't have to, but he understands". (One of his last requests was that we make sure his name was on the donor wall in Sick Kids Hospital where he was treated for 3 1/2 years. We did, in fact make a substantial donation to have a plaque put up on this wall...the plaque reads "A Tribute to Paul Gismondi". Of course, whenever anyone who knows us visits the hospital, they also go visit the 'wall' as we have in the past and I know that conversations DO take place.)
7. John told us that "Pat" or "Patrick" was significant but Paul had no friends by that name and we have no family immediate family by that name. (The only thing I can relate to this and it didn't hit me until we arrived home is....we visited a famous church while in New York twice and lit a candle for him both times, once was the very night before the show!...the name of the church is St. Patrick's)
8. Throughout the reading John kept saying "one of three"...."he is saying he is one of three". (We couldn't relate to that as we only have 2 children. But we used to joke around all the time saying that our little dog was our 2nd daughter so we're thinking that this was his way of including himself, his sister and his dog as our "children".
9. He mentioned the names "Lisa" or "Lee".....(The only thing we could think of is a family friend named Lisa who owns a little cafe near our family cottage. She had offered Paul a job to work there the next summer and that's all he talked about. He was so excited about it, but unfortunately did not live to see the summer. This might be a bit of a stretch but it's the only thing we could relate to the name.)
10. John said something about 4 pictures of him that were published. (There were a couple of articles about him in our local paper and also his school yearbook included a tribute to him, but more research on our part will have to be done to get to the bottom of this one....and by the way....there's the number 4 yet again!)
11. The name "John" or "Joe" came up during John's reading. (My father is Joe and my nephew is Joseph, named after him. This was definitely another validation....a huge one!
12. The 19th or 20th....John wasn't sure which. (My husband's birthday is on the 20th of January....and is just 6 days after the show taping. I'm sure Paul was acknowledging his dad's birthday.)
13. John told us "he is the only son"..."he's the one". (This is true, Paul was our only son. We also have a beautiful daughter. But as far as the "he's the one" phrase...we think this is in reference to him being the last one in Canada from my husband's lineage carrying our surname. There are others in Europe but he was the "one" here in Canada).
14. John said "you said it was o.k. to leave....he heard you...it was unconditional". (Paul and I had a conversation a few weeks before he died where we talked about heaven and what we thought it would be like. I believe he took this as meaning it was o.k. with me that he had to "leave". It is what I meant.....but it was just too difficult to say the exact words.)
15. At this point, John started talking about a child who was in I.C.U.....a baby who had been born then passed before it was 6 months old. (That was not significant to us at all). Then he mentioned the names "Heather" and "Helen" (again no significance for us). It was for the people sitting right behind us and John talked to them for awhile and he said to them "you can thank these people's son for bringing your family through". So, Paul had brought through their loved ones for a bit.
16. John's attention was once again turned back to us. Paul did not want to leave yet! John said "he died of Aids......no....it was leukemia". (That is correct...Paul died of leukemia).
17. John said "he was not of clear mind right before passing". (This is true. Paul was on oxygen, he was confused and medicated, was there in body, but we feel his spirit was in the "other" place hours before he died).
18. John told us "you have his wristband or watch". He kept pointed to his wrist while saying this. (Every day, my husband wears a very special silver bracelet which belonged to Paul. We had his initials put on it after he died).
19. John said "he was not afraid....he spoke with a religious person". (In fact, my first cousin is a Catholic priest and did speak to Paul on a few different occasions, one being only 3 weeks before he died).
20. John said "he was strong and optimistic....he prepared others". (For those of you who know Paul....this is the truest thing John said to us. He was at peace with his fate and accepted it totally. He was only worried about those of us who would be left behind.)
21. John said something about the anniversary of his death which had just passed and how I read something that night and that "he was there with you all". (This is in fact true. We had a mass on the 3rd anniversary of his death just two weeks before and I read 3 poems out loud, two of which I had written for him myself).
22. John mentioned another families' son (younger than Paul) who is with him. He said to tell this other family that he was "on the case" looking after him. (We related this to a good friend who helped us during our deepest, darkest weeks and months of grief after our son's death. She, too lost a son a few years prior and he was, in fact, younger than Paul. Her and I always talk about how we hoped they were together. I'm sure he was referring to Stefan here).
23. The names "Ryan" and "Brian" came up. (Can't find the connection here yet).
24. He said to "say hello to the people on the internet". (I took this as meaning some dear friends from Northern Ontario who we met during our stays at the hospital. We all became very good friends very quickly and still maintain the relationship to this day. Our main way of communicating is through the internet.)
25. John was speaking directly to me when he said something about "being on the board of something and being asked to speak.....it is very important". (I work for a local Hospice and just recently was asked to attend a high school gathering where a cheque was being presented to our organization. I was, in fact, asked to speak here and most likely will be doing more of this in the future).
26. John told us that there was a "parallel to our son and his grandfather who was with him". In fact, Paul's middle name is the same as his grandfathers first name and that is definitely the parallel.) He also said that "grandfather passed first and greeted him". (My husband swears he heard Paul call out for his grandfather at the time of his passing.)
27. "You took him to feed the animals...you had to travel to this place". (We did take the kids to Marineland many years ago. There were deer running free and I was afraid to let Paul near then as he was so young. But he insisted on feeding them so we gave in.)
28. John talked about "someone being out on the water and a great concern for getting back to shore". (I explained to John that my father almost drowned many years ago. He got caught in an undertow. A friend he was with had helped to save him). John explained that "grandson said to talk about the 'push'....and no surrender". John said to tell my dad that the 'push' he felt when he was being saved and the happiness he felt was the same as what he, himself felt when he was dying. That he was being "pushed" home and that he was very happy about it. John said "grandson has a big 'push' too". (I think this is self explanatory).
29. John said the number 16 was significant. I tried to relate it to a birthday....or a date of some kind....until I remember that Paul would be 16 years old now. (again, self explanatory....I distinctly remember the audience gasping when I said this).
30. John mentioned "a rose broach". (Can't figure this one out yet). Our daughter seems to think they might have put a rose broach in my Christmas stocking one year. I don't recall it and will have to search high and low for this.)
31. "Grandma needs to watch health....this needs to be addressed". (This was very meaningful because my mother has very bad arthritis in her knees and she had one knee replacement surgery before Paul's passing. The doctors told her the other one would have to be done as well and Paul made her promise to do it. She still has not had it done. Mom cried when she heard this message from her grandson.)
32. John talked about "the other house being purchased". (We did sell our home since Paul's passing).
33. One particular incident which was directly entirely at my husband is quite funny. Prior to the show, my husband was very concerned about where to keep his reading glasses. He didn't have a pocket in his shirt and he didn't want to hang them over his shirt collar cause it just wouldn't look good on t.v. So he decided to keep them in his pant pocket hoping they wouldn't get squished. John said to him "ohh dad....he says "Where are your glasses"?
34. John told us he saw a hockey game that Paul was invited to and there is a photo of him which shows the team's emblem. (In fact, Paul attended the Leaf's game, invited by the teams goalie, Curtis Joseph, to sit in his private box. We have a picture of Paul, his sister Vanessa and the team mascot is in the middle wearing a team jersey. This occured just a month prior to his passing).
35. The very last thing John said was "have fun at the wedding". (Now you have to know that Paul absolutely LOVED weddings and there is a family wedding coming up in just a few months.)
Whatever got us to go to this show is a powerful force! I had to be lucky enough to get through on the phone line, which took me over 2 1/2 hours. Next I had to receive the call back from the show saying I had gotten tickets. Then we had to get ourselves to New York. And lastly, out of 215 audience members and only 10 readings, we were among the chosen who got read. All these forces came together in order for us to receive this precious gift. My husband summed it all up.....he said "Now I know for sure that he is always with us". So, this ends the quest for validation. We are at peace knowing he is here.....even though we can't see him.
Was anyone else at the January 14th taping? Just curious...
Thank you all for your good wishes. If anyone wants to clarify something or comment on this thread, please feel free to do so. I welcome any and all responses....again thank you all.
Sincerely,
Connie
(Pauls Mom)