JAMIE CLARK PSYCHIC MEDIUM

While visiting my daughter in Phoenix, Arizona I was fortunate to be able to get an appointment with Jamie Clark.  Searching the internet for a medium to see while in Phoenix I was most impressed with Jamie's website www.jamieclark.net and his participation on T.V. in America's Psychic Challenge, which premiered on the Lifetime channel in 2007.   My reading from Jamie was extremely accurate and as I learned later one bit of information related to a future event.  Jamie talks fast so he gives a lot of information.  My reading resulted in him giving me 65 items of information that were correct and 23 more items I was not sure of or were incorrect.  I was the most shocked when he accurately described my mother's disabilities - one amazing validation!

For the sake of clarity I am listing all things Jamie said about a particular individual at one time.  For instance when he was describing my mother's disabilities he first mentions the heaviness in her arm, then he switches to another topic and later returns to my mother's physical condition.  Thank God I recorded the reading so I could transcribe it.  After reading my notes I could put all relevant descriptions for each individual in a more easily read order.

Jamie has a very outgoing personality and puts one immediately at ease.   After introducing himself he informed me that my mother had already shown up before I arrived - which was so like my mother.  He informed me how he works which is very similar to Brandi (only yes, no or maybe answers from me) except Jamie tries not to look up at the person he is reading for so he won't see any clues from facial expressions.  While he was explaining how he works I think my mother was annoying him because he said she was making him forget stuff.  My mother was bad about interrupting people and Jamie also accused her of making him trip over his own words. (She would.)

Once Jamie got past the verbal goofs my mother inflicted on him he was able to relay the specific information:

Mother acknowledged the person who passed from cancer - he knew that she did not.  My father passed from cancer.
He saw that there were actually two people who passed from cancer.  My father and mother in law.  
Jamie asked if my dad had passed and stated that he was standing there nicely, observing and listening.  My father was a gentleman - very polite.  Jamie saw an M name - one male and one female, two names that are the same.  My parents last name began with an M but Jamie thought it was a first name.  Then he said one living and one past.  Not sure but my brother has my father's first name although it does not start with an M - just out last name.

Jamie stated that my mother had two females next to her.  I determined later that they most likely were my sister and her daughter since information about them was given later.

My mother made Jamie's head hurt which he thought could mean a major problem with the head.  True - my mother died from a stroke and her first symptom was a severe headache.

With my father he felt a heaviness in his chest.  Not sure.  He never had a heart attack, however, he passed a few days after surgery for a broken hip from heart failure or a heart attack.

Jamie thought my mother passed about three years before my dad.  He was close - it was four and a half years. 

He asked me about a B name but at the time I couldn't think of any family member with a B name.  Later I realized it was probably Brenda, one of my best friends for over 40 years!

I was told that literally within a couple of weeks there are two things, birthday or anniversary and that was correct.  My daughter's birthday which was a few days before this reading is two weeks before my wedding anniversary.

Jamie heard the name David and my mother has a great grandson named David.  My mother gave him a T name and her father's name was Tom.  He also asked me about a Phyllis or Francis and the only Francis I can think of is a great great grandmother to my mother.  He also mentioned a V name - Vicky, Valery, Veronica .   I have an old friend named Vicky but I don't believe my mother ever met her.

He said that my mother said three for kids and she did have three children.

Jamie asked if my sister was alive and I told him no.  He said she is so strongly connected here it isn't funny.  He said there were questions about my sister's passing because she put out a question mark.  I would consider that true.  Jamie gave the name Jennifer, that was not her name but her name did begin with a J.  He saw that she had very few close friends and that is true.

Then Jamie said "December, December, December.  December is a major thing."  I was surprised he said December three times.  My birthday and my sister's birthday is on the same day in December, nine years apart.  Our mother's birthday was the next day.  What are the odds of that.  HER mother's birthday was just a couple of days before mine and I have two nieces who have birthdays within a couple of days of ours. 

Jamie knew I have two children - one stronger and one softer - true.  He said one was in her 20's - true - one is 28 and the other is 30.  He saw that with one of my daughters there was a major change coming and an opportunity is coming.  He said that her mental thought pattern is changing.  My oldest daughter had recently left her husband and has decided to file for divorce.  The transition has been somewhat difficult for her.  Jamie was also correct when he told me that "one wanted kids and the other one doesn't."

Then Jamie asked if one of my girls had gotten in or out of a relationship in the last six months.  I told him one daughter was getting a divorce.  According to my mother, Jamie said, my daugher's ex-husband was manipulative  and dominating, which is true and something I did not find out until a few weeks after this reading.

I couldn't hide my shock when Jamie said he didn't know if my mother was kidding or not but asked if "someone had been put in a care facility in some way or known for mental challenges."  One daughter was hospitalized for anorexia and my other daughter spent time in a drug rehab.  Both girls have been diagnosed with depression and OCD.

My mother threw him a teacher energy and he thought that if I am not a teacher then I should be because I have a good ability to communicate. My mother had two sisters who were teachers and her father was on the board of a high school in Wichita Falls, Texas.   My mother also threw him a movie energy - probably because my husband and I go to a movie every weekend. 

Next he saw that my sister was shaking ashes which meant that if she was not cremated then she is with the one who was.  She was not cremated but I know at least one of our aunts was. I am not sure if her husband was cremated.  Jamie saw that there were two dynamics to her passing.  He said "first one thing and then another thing."  I would consider this correct.  My sister's death was due to malpractice of an anesthesiologist during an elective surgery.  For a day or two we thought she might make it.  When it was clear she had suffered irreveresable brain damage the family decided to donate her organs. She had been matched to a patient to donate her heart and lungs but when the surgeons went in to harvest her organs they found a massive infection and they determined they could not use any of her organs. That was an additional trauma for our family as it took away any hope of anything good coming from her passing.

My sister (or someone) shows Jamie a balloon release.  There was not one that I know of for her but there was for another friend of mine.  She was also showing Jamie Jonah and the whale and he thought she was trying to get him to say a name.  Her name started with a J.

Apparently my mother keep baring her teeth at Jamie and he could not figure that out.  But I could!  My mother had false teeth and after a few years her gums shrunk and her dentures became loose and she developed an annoying habit of baring her teeth whenever she was biting down on her teeth.  She would randomly smile like that throughout the reading.

He thought my mother was very intelligent (as Brandie had).  I know my mother loved that!!  Jamie was also given the date of Oct 12.  He told me it could also mean October and the 12th of another month.  Two birthdays are in October - a daughter and my father.

He asked if my mother or father had a sister that had passed because there were two other females present (and I assume they were giving off auntie energy.)  Both parents had sisters who passed.

Then Jamie said "someone passed and someone came across the body."  I didn't think of it at the time, but that would be my brother in law finding the body of his daughter who committed suicide.  Later Jamie did mention that my mother was with someone who commited suicide.

Jamie asked if I have a ring or any other jewelery of my mother's and if I had misplaced it.  If I had I will find it and I am to be careful that I don't lose it.  I do have my mother's wedding ring and I do hide - and forget where - another ring of hers. 

Then Jamie gave some spot on information about my husband (except for the name - he thought Robert but it's Ron).  Jamie saw a neutralization around his energy field which can mean a shift in energy vibration that could mean he changed jobs or careers.  I confirmed that this was accurate.  He said it was not an identical job it was something similar because there was a comfort level because you have to know what you are doing.  Also with this new opportunity there is more responsibility.  My husband will acclimate very quickly and ascend and he will be in a higher and more functioning position.  Amazingly, Jamie later said with regard to this job there was a feeling of a yes then a no, then a yes type of thing.  My husband had a hard time making up his mind to leave his previous job which he had for almost 30 years.  As Jamie predicted he has acclimated very fast!

My mother also showed Jamie that my husband is very intelligent and good with numbers.  Later Jamie said that "someone is a lawyer."  My husband is a C.P.A. and an attorney.  

If the information about my husband's new job wasn't shocking enough, Jamie then went on to describe my mother's physical disabilities.  He said that she drops his right arm and he felt it could not be moved affectively, like there was a heaviness to it.  She couldn't grip things and something was placed in her hand.  He said "one leg more than the other"  My mother had a stroke when she was 60 and her arm and hand were impaired.  The item placed in her hand was a foam ball that she used to squeeze to try and strengthen her grip.  One of her legs was also affected and caused her to drag it somewhat when she walked.

Jamie was accurate about my mother's passing also.  He said my mother said to thank me for releasing her and he asked me if I had let her go.  That was something I never told anyone.  He said "she was in - she was out - she was in - she was out."  She made Jamie feel like there was false hope.  He also told me that my mother was seeing relatives before she passed.  My mother had a second stroke and was unconscious for a day before she woke up in intensive care.  The false hope Jamie felt was mine when my mother woke up.  She did well for a day or two then one day she thought there were other people in the room and we were at a party.  She lost consciousness after a couple more days and did not  wake again before she died.  

Then my mother had to bring up my brother.  She let Jamie know that he always thinks he is right and that is so true!  Jamie also felt a challenge with a brother figure, but for some reason there is erratic energy around him in connection with this.  I would guess that my brother has always had erratic energy!!  He wouldn't speak to me for over 20 years and we only started talking again at our sister's funeral.

  Jamie was shown letters or cards from my mother that were contained in a box.   Actually they are in a large folder.  Then Jamie saw my mother watching T.V. and that she was frustrated from the stroke.  Watching T.V. was about the only thing she could do after her stroke. 

Once again, Jamie didn't know if my mother was being serious or not but he saw a time when I was sitting outside and maybe saw a UFO.  That would have been about 10 years ago when I was watching a play at the outdoor Muny Theater in St. Louis, MO.  Not a real exciting sighting, it just looked like a star speeding across the sky much faster than a commercial plane or jet.  The play was more interesting than the UFO!  Definitely not a shooting star either. My mother's message to me was to always question it.  Unfortunately she did not elaborate as to what my sighting was.  

I was asked if in the past six months or sooner if there had been a minor accident with a vehicle, like someone backed into something.  He said my daughter was not paying attention to where she was going.  Jamie said it felt like the impact was a corner area.  My youngest daughter's car at the time had numerous dents in it from minor accidents but none were recent.  However, a couple of weeks later while she was house sitting for me while my husband and I went on vacation, she decided to drive my car since it was nicer.  As she was backing it out of the garage she was not looking where she was going and hit her sister's car, knocking off her sister's side mirror and leaving a nice dent in the rear corner of my car. 

During the reading Jamie mentioned that "sometimes you might be the messenger for someone else like I am for you."  He told me I was connected to someone who lost a child and that it felt like a boy.  My mother was bringing him through and he gets an impact and the passing is tragic.  (A couple of possibilities came to mind.)  Jamie said that something was not understood or known in some way.  He was shown an accident and shown a truck.  He got the name Steven.   I was told that this person was shaking ashes as well.  I am not sure who this is.  An old high school friend lost a son in a car accident and so did one of my husband's cousin.  I will have to do a little investigating to figure out who this is or if this person is really connected to me.

SECOND SESSION WITH MEDIUM BRANDIE CHRISMAN

Before this session I took advice I had been given previously and asked those who I wanted to come through to please try to come through strong.  I actually invited ALL my departed family members to show up and gave an open invitation to whoever would like to come.  It's probably better to be a little more specific about who you invite . . . .  One of the first things Brandie said was that there were quite a few who had shown up for this reading, which as it turned included a couple of souls I had no idea who they could be.  Brandie also said at one point during the reading that it was like my family was lined up to come through.  So I guess I should watch out what I ask for!

First to come through was a woman who Brandie thought was a grandmother, whose hair was pulled back in a bun and was wearing very dated clothing.  This woman had a strong personality, Brandie could feel strength and sterness and this woman was really into discipline.  In fact she corrected Brandie and said aunt and Brandie thought she could even be a great aunt. She wanted to talk about her figure - or rather lack of one.  She appeared as a very busty, full figured woman and she mentioned her feet and Brandie said they felt like orthopedic shoes and her hose looked like compression hose and maybe there was a diabetic connection.  Brandie felt she was bringing up the diabetes or sugar connection.  She said she loves sweets and everyone would have known that she loved sweets or maybe she made them.  She made Brandie aware of two sons that she raised.  She was married and could be a difficult woman, she was hard headed and she was going to do everything her way.  She is showing Brandie the graying in her hair and Brandie felt a teacher connection, either she was one or wanted to be one.  She was showing Brandie different aspects of a classroom.           [This sounds so much like two of my aunts - except for the part of raising two sons because she had no children.  My Aunt Iva, a teacher, was the oldest of seven children and as the oldest helped raise the younger children and she had two brothers which may be what Brandie saw.  I'm not sure about the diabetes, however, one of her sisters Alma did have diabetes and in fact had so much trouble with her feet that eventually she had one leg amputated. She also had a strong personality and since there were teachers in her family and her father was on the school board I wouldn't be surprised if at one time she wanted to be a teacher.]


The next person who came through was a military man. Brandie felt he had gotten his "wings" or something like that.  She had the feeling of WWII or Korean War and said it had the feeling of an old fashion black and white photo.  She did not feel an immediate connection with him, more reaching out like an uncle.  Then she was corrected, this was a friend of my father's or mothers.  He told her that he was close enough that he would have been more uncle like. She asked if my father was military [he was not] then this is someone my father was close to, friends when they were young and this man went off to war.  He did come home from the war and she said when he returned there were aspects of him that disappeared, or were harder to access.  He was changed, he was not as lively after the war.  She said he gives the sense he is a free spirited, spontaneous person and there was something about his eyes, he may have had a problem with them.  Brandie said that my father and this man are still pals on the other side, the friendship is still there.  She said it was almost like they were drinking buddies.  I was dumbfounded.  I knew who this was and I would have never expected him to come through.  I'm not sure I even met him since he lived over 1,000 miles away from us, but I knew enough about him from my father

  [This is Charlie Henderson, one of my father's life long friends from college who was a commander in the Navy during WWII. The wings she saw were probably the three commander stripes on his uniform.  It's interesting that she would feel the black and white photo because when my father's group of friends were in college they got together and had a portrait made of them.  A few years after college they all had another photo taken - Charlie was in his uniform and everyone was in the same order.  They had one more portrait taken when they were reunited for their 50th college class reunion, and of course everyone was in the same order. These photos were published in a Baton Rouge, Louisiana newspaper when an article was written on their over 50 year friendship. I don't know about any problems with his eyes.  About Charlie being changed after the war: in the article another of Charlie's friends mentioned that when Charlie came home from the Pacific his hair had turn white, but later turned back to brown.  I don't know if this was meant literally or figuratively, but it does insinuate a change in Charlie.  And about my father and Charlie being drinking buddies they sure were!  In the same newspaper article they mention their fondness for corn whiskey.] 

My great-grandfather  [William McKendree - (Mack)]  on my mother's side was next and he definitely is one of the last souls I would expect to hear from.  Brandie  sensed a grandfather or uncle who was a heavy alcoholic.  She felt he was a generation up from my parents.  Mack wanted to tell Brandie how he felt because he had a lot of burdens. (Brandie stated that she almost felt like a psychologist, that he just wanted to sit down and tell her how he feels.)  He told her he felt like he couldn't give enough or provide enough to his family.  She said he felt immense pressure to make things happen and he did not want to give Brandie any details.  There was a period of time that he was drinking where he was really snappy and harsh with his words, not a lovey-dovey type of guy.  Brandie felt there was a physical side to him and he let Brandie know that yes he was abusive. Mack told her he was not proud of it, he is owning it and Brandie felt that is why he was coming through.  He could be abusive with the children and particularly with his spouse.  Mack claimed alcoholism was handed down from his father and Brandie thought that either my grandfather or father broke the chain of alcoholism.  Brandie saw that Mack had two brothers or was one of two and that one brother was particularly successful.  It was like Mack was comparing himself to this brother who was successful and had it together and he felt he couldn't live up to his brother.


[According to family lore, Mack was a mean drunk.  One cousin wrote that three of my aunts "historicize the old reprobate was a drinker.  They report that when Granpa's kids heard his buggy race into the yard late at night with Granpa layin' on the leather and whipping the horses they knew the old fart was tanked up and mean drunk . . . his children all dived for cover and hid out till the alcohol wore off."  He was also a Methodist minister which may be why I never thought of him as an alcoholic. Actually, I just never thought of him that much!  My grandmother and two of her sisters I know of hated him because of how he treated their mother.  Mack suffered from a rare condition called  polyorchidism - basically he had three testicles.  Too much testosterone and alcohol can make one nasty man. 

Mack's first wife had nine children before she died.  Then a very, very, very short time after her death he married my great-grandmother who was half his age (he was 40 and she was 19) and that poor woman had nine children also.  About Mack not wanting to go into detail - no wonder because he was reprimanded at a Methodist Church Conference for  1. "... the indulgence of sinful tempers and the use of improper language at Minter's Chapel on or about the first of Sept. 1874; and 2. "trying to have carnal communication of his daughter in law" (ewwww!)  He was later absolved of this (but I bet it was true), however, it must have caused him considerable stress and embarrassment.   Also stressful and embarrassing was the fact that his two youngest single daughters became pregnant on the same weekend and were not married until they were about six months along. (My grandmother and her sister had a party in the barn one night.)

The successful brother he mentioned I knew nothing about until with the help of a cousin and the 1900 U.S. Census I discovered that one of his two brothers was a physician.  It sounds like Mack was a little jealous of him and his higher income and status.]  

Then to my surprise my niece Kimberly came through.  Brandie saw a young female between 17 and 21 and she asked me if I knew a Julie [I said no]  or someone with a strong Ju name who would have lost a daughter.  [Yes - Kim's mother was Judy.]  Brandie thought Kim was a little timid and she definitely felt like she was at the end of high school or beginning of college when she passed.  [Kim was 17.]  She thought the girl had a very sweet personality and felt a lot of innocence about her.  Brandie had to work with Kim to make her more comfortable and gain her trust.  She saw that Kim's death was unexpected, that she had not been ill, but she did feel out of control - either emotionally or she was driving a car that went out of control. [Kim did have a drug problem and shortly before her death she was drivng a car that went out of control.] 

Then Brandie said Kim was taking responsibility for the way she passed.  I acknowledged that Kim was a suicide and Brandie said that was probably why Kim hesitated to warm up to her.  That maybe it was embarrassment she was feeling from her and not innocence. Brandie felt that Kim was bringing up a fight with a boyfriend or a boy, around the time of her death, a boy close to her age, a friend or a brother.  [At the time of the reading I thought it was her brother but later learned from a niece that it was a boyfriend.]  Brandie felt like Kim was the opposite of this boy, almost like he was a goodie goodie; "she made chaos and he didn't." [True]  There were times when they were close but there was a fight within a few weeks right before she passed, and he carries this guilt with him. Brandie said "she's saying it was me, not you."  Kim was showing her the boy feeling guilty and saying that he needs to set down this burden. [According to another niece, even after ten years Kim's boyfriend is still asking people who knew Kim to pray for her.]


Brandie felt that Kim could be sharp with her words, especially toward her mother.  She would get angry a lot and would blame her mother for a lot of things.  She feels the need to say that there was a lot of internal conflict, a lot of little things set her off.  Also, she really worried about what other people thought about her even if she didn't give that impression.  She told Brandie that "I blamed everybody else and I shouldn't have."  There was something that triggered all of this attitude, a particular incident and she needs them to acknowledge this.  Brandie wondered if it was abuse from in or outside the family because something traumatic triggered this and Kim needed this to be recognized.  But Brandie also said that Kim might not have told anyone or if she did tell she was just told it would be o.k.  Brandie asked me a couple of times if her parents were divorced [no]. 

I did not know until I talked with Kim's older sister about the reading what the "particular incident" was that Brandy referred to.  Apparently quite a few months after the incident, Kim suddenly confided in her sister that a male babysitter had sexually abused her. My sister and her husband - who were very non confrontational, meek people, didn't file a police report or do anything about the abuse.  Eventually Kim did get therapy for behavior problems and not surprisingly drug abuse.]

 Brandie felt a lot of self hatred from Kim, like she felt she was not worthy, and felt the need to address why she was that way.  Then Kim showed Brandie an image of a mother and daughter and said her favorite times were sitting in her mother's lap with her stroking her hair.  She told Brandie that it all seemed so simple then and knows her mother was a good mother; she remembers the good times and she recognizes the pain that she caused.  Brandie was shown an image of her with her daughter and didn't know if it meant that Kim had long blond hair.  [She did have long blond hair.]

Brandie told me that hearing names was something new to her and so far usually gets just a few letters.  I thought she was very close with Julie and hearing the strong Ju name.  Mediums I see on television usually just give one letter.  The only exceptions I have seen are Kim Russo and John Edwards.






             

PSYCHIC MEDIUM BRANDIE CHRISMAN

Brandie Chrisman is an engaging, attractive young woman in her twenties and a single mom with two young children. www.brandiechrisman.com  She lives in a beautiful home about a thirty minute drive from my house.  We settled in her living room in two chairs facing each other about four feet apart with new age music playing softly in the background.  My first impression was a little doubtful because she was so young, but after reviewing our recorded session and reading my grandfather's obituary  I am very impressed with her accuracy. Well, shocked is a more accurate description. There is no way she could know things about my family (going back over 80 years).  Even if she did a google search to find out information about me she would not have found the things she talked about. And besides, I used my maiden name when I made an appointment with her which I haven't used in over 30 years.  So if she looked for anything about me online she wouldn't find a thing.  Brandie talked about things that no one could just guess about my mother or father or grandfather. She is definitely one of the best psychic mediums in Oklahoma, if not the best.  I am far more impressed with her than either James Van Pragh or Sylvia Brown. Brandie also attended the Arthur Findlay College for mediumship in Essex, England.

From the information she gave that I could verify, it appears that she was over 90 percent accurate with my reading (and that's a conservative estimate). I counted 44 details she gave that were accurate.  Five details that I don't know. (Although I don't remember if my father taught me how to ride a bike I don't know who else would have.)  Only one detail that was incorrect - my grandfather had no military connection.  Brandie stated that if he didn't have a military connection it could mean that he was very regimented.  I have no idea if he was or not, but I would guess he would have to be because of how successful he was and perserving through the depression.

Some of things she told me I couldn't verify until later and I thank God I recorded the reading.  Brandie gives so much information and I was so occupied trying to process everything there is no way I could have remembered everything she said.  I wrote out the entire session and that gave me a better picture of just how much information she gave me and how accurately she understood my family dynamics.  I have heard a medium on television remark that spirits have a story to tell and that does seem to be the case - especially with my mother.

In the second reading I had with Brandie she was just as accurate (see my post of 5/30/11 and the update in the post of 7/15/11).  Last March I took a friend to one of Brandie's galleries where she was lucky enough to receive a reading.  After listening to the recording and writing everything she told my friend, we counted 40 items Brandie had correct and just three we weren't sure of.  Brandie is consistently accurate.  I have written about my reading with Brandie so anyone can see exactly what I learned from my reading with her and get an idea of how she works.

Brandie began by telling me to answer just yes, no or maybe, and that if she needs clarification she will ask me a question.  I totally forgot about my recorder until about ten minutes into the session.  Like my first reading with a medium (see my post of 4/4/11) she had the sense of two males and a female.  I determined later that it was my grandfather who initially presented himself.  At first I had no clue who it was because she mentioned a banking connection and then she had a very good visual of him, tall, thin and balding.  [That's grandpa when he was older.] She saw that he was making a big deal about being strong, he was presenting himself with big biceps and thought he had a military background.  Neither of my grandfathers had a military background (that I knew of) but my maternal great grandfather did.  [I later learned from my grandfather's obituary that he was on the board of a bank.]

Brandi never gave me any initials or names in this reading, just information, but that was enough!  My mother came through next (grandfather came back later).  Brandie had a sense of her being educated, not with an advanced degree but more "book knowledge," she could hold a conversation.  [My mother never went to college, but all her siblings did.]

But then Brandie started talking about my mother's childhood, which I later realized she nailed, everything she told me was true.  Brandie said that during my mother's childhood things were very hard for her and her family, and:

1)   they lived in poverty;
2)   mother's parents were hard working;
3)   mom was one of many  [Brandie thought 5 but there were seven kids];
4)   she felt lost in the shuffle;
5)   they all did a level of work to make life work for as long as she could remember;
6)   depression and dust bowl era was significant to my mother;
7)   stressed that the family really went through hard times;
8)   Brandie saw blue collar and farm land - you have to really get out there and use your hands;
9)   education was stopped abruptly at a certain point;
10) college was a dream - Then Brandie said it was like my mother was shaking a finger at her and saying "but don't mistake that for being not being educated,"

[When I returned home I pulled out my genealogy records and found a family story written by a cousin about the life of our grandparents. During her childhood my mother was living in Wichita Falls,Texas and the family had been doing very well thanks to grandfather's investment in a few oil wells. Grandfather had made a million then lost it all when the depression hit and the banks called in the loans, and according to my cousin "there was nothing to do but hunker down and tough it out.  To eat, grandfather was forced back to subsistence farming (a form of farming in which nearly all of the crops or livestock raised are used to maintain the farmer and his family, leaving little, if any, surplus for sale or trade."  He basically found a site in open prairie and moved in dilapidated oil-field houses that he stuck together for a home.  My mother's education abruptly stopped at that point and as a senior in high school I am not sure if she was able to graduate or not.   If she had not, she would never have told us!  All her siblings had been to college but being the youngest she never had the chance, so her education was abruptly stopped as Brandie said. The dust bowl era took its toll on them too and they survived on what grandmother could grow in her garden and a few hogs that they raised, and an occasional beef that one of the family could afford to butcher.]

Then Brandie goes into more personal areas for my mother.  She said that when mom was older it was very important to her to be very well "put together."  Brandie was taken back to the 50's era dress and gloves.  She said it was like prim and proper were very important to my mother. [A big yes on that!]  Brandie asked mom why she was bringing this up and determined that this was around the time she met my father and that was when she had felt the best in her life. [True, she had a good job and she found my dad.]

Amazingly, Brandie sensed that later my mother became very stressed and frazzeled, and had a sense of being overwhelmed. [Yes]  According to Brandie, my mother felt that things had to be a certain way to be right, but never quite were how she thought they should be. Brandie said I might not have known this about my mother, but my mother had a tendency to become frazzeled raising children. [Oh yes!]

[Wow, looking back now I realize Brandie is absolutely correct.  My mother came from a blue collar background and when she met my dad, (who had a Master's in Engineering from LSU and worked for an oil company) she must have felt very lucky to have made such a good catch!  She determined very early in their relationship that she would marry him.  Consequently, however, with my father's position came an elevation in social status that did cause her considerable concern for being proper and everything being just right.  I do remember my mother as being stressed a lot and I had more than my fair share of lectures about how to act or dress for "polite society."]  

Switching gears,  Brandie said my mother was now talking about my relationship with her, that there had been a distance between us, either a physical distance or at odds.  [Probably talking about the time I lived in Canada with my first husband. I don't recall being at odds any more than most teenagers/young adult.]  She went back to being frazzeled during my early childhood.  [I'm sure Brandie is correct about that because I was a surprise baby when my mother turned 40 and I remember her being "frazzeled" or nervous.  My mother would never play cards with me or board games because she claimed that it made her too nervous. At the time I didn't think that much about it because it was just what I thought was normal.]

What really shocked me was being told my mother acknowledged "things I wanted her to do that she didn't - like go to things, or do things and she didn't". [OMG]  Brandie said my mother apologized for not being more motivated and not measuring up.  My mother was at odds with herself.  It was stressed that there was a significant change in my mother due to fatigue from when she was younger.  My mother had an image of how life should be and she was sorry for not measuring up.  [Wow]

I was surprised when Brandie stated that my mother talked about having a lot of fatigue.  My mother told Brandie that everyone thought at the time it was depression, but it was not.  The fatigue was significant because it became worse which caused her to become unmotivated.  It continued to worsen until she let everything go and that she became ill before anyone else knew.  There is something significant about the immense fatigue.  [OMG]
[On the way home from my reading I realized how much that made sense because for years my siblings and I had thought our mother was depressed (or lazy).  Perhaps it was because she did seem so unmotivated - she had to have a housekeeper and after dinner our dishes went into the sink to "soak" so they would be easier for the housekeeper to clean.  Then it dawned on me; my mother snored horribly and I would bet a large amount of money that she had sleep apnea (like my sister).  The next day I recalled when I was a senior in high school and found my mother's prescriptions for both Dexadrine and Benzedrine - (which I admit I sampled so I could stay up and study for a test) and why on earth would she need bottles of both?  This was 1969 and I don't believe that doctors had even discovered sleep apnea yet. Sleep apnea can also cause strokes and my mother had her first one at 59.] 

Brandie said that the fatigue played into things not being the way my mother thought they should have been and she is sorry that she could not make it so.  She had some guilt that she could not provide the picture of what things should be like.  [I totally believe this is correct because it makes so much sense to me.]

Then who had to be my grandfather (my mother's dad) came through again as strong and again showing big biceps. Brandie stated that he was over emphasizing that he was not strong at the end of his life, but he feels strong now.  Brandie thought his death was chest related, maybe heart. [Had no clue until I came home and read his obit.] She felt he had a military back ground or he was very regimented; [Don't know.] and that he was a proud man - but not in a negative light, but that he holds himself with pride.  [My mother specifically told me this about my grandfather, that he was a proud man.]  

Brandie described him physically as having broad shoulders and tall [I don't know] and that he was blue collar; she saw him out on the land with the plaid shirt feel and an oil field connection. [The oil filed connection really surprised me - remember that during the depression he put together shacks from oil fields to make a home.  Before the depression he had invested in oil wells.]  Brandie stated that she felt that he had no college. [Correct, my grandfather left home at 13.]  She said that my grandfather indicated that he died when I was a small child { I was two]. 

Again Brandie was drawn to his lungs, she had a heavy lung feeling like a chronic lung issue, almost like a miner's lung.  She asked me if he smoked and I said he probably did. [When I read his obituary I discovered that he died of lung cancer, so Brandie nailed that one!]

My grandfather showed Brandie a farmhouse with a row of trees and indicated that there was something significant about those trees.  Brandie said they kind of looked like fruit trees and she was shown apple trees - which she said usually means a teaching connection.  [Two aunts were teachers and surprisingly my grandfather was on the school board.] Brandie saw apples being put in boxes that were then put in a truck. [?]  Brandie said he was again emphasizing a life of work and she thought he was trying to say that I had that same work ethic. [How sweet.]  There was something significant about his watch [?] and again Brandie felt a military connection.  [I have no idea if my grandfather was ever, even briefly in the military.  I have yet to find a WWI draft registration card for him because in the data base  on Ancestry.com there are hundreds of men with his name. My cousins have never mentioned anything about him being in the military either.  His father, however, was a captain in the civil war.]

My father came through next.  Brandie saw him as slender and tall, educated, soft spoken- not a yeller, very level headed, good at expressing love and older when he passed.  [All true.]  Brandie had an image of graduation and me and that my father was very proud because it was like a milestone had been passed.  [I was the first of his children to graduate from college, albeit a junior college.  Since it was clear that my other two siblings would never graduate from a college he was especially happy that at least one of his kids did.  I remember him telling me after graduation ceremonies that "I was the first kid to graduate from college."   Interesting that Brandie would see that.]

She said my father had a sense of humor, that he enjoyed telling jokes with his friends and he could do it his whole life.  She said he could make me laugh.  [True.  In fact there was a newspaper article about my dad and his three college friends when they all got together again for the last time in their lives because of their 60 year friendship.  When my father was asked what they liked to do together one of his comments was that they "liked to tell jokes, mainly filthy ones."

Brandie said my father handed her a picture of her grandfather and thought that meant that dad was a newspaper reader.  Brandie said her grandfather used to sit in his chair with his coffee and read the paper.  [Yes, my dad certainly read the paper and books every day in his chair by the window, but with bourbon, not coffee.]  She said there was a soft strength about him and that when he did talk you listened - he talked when there was meaning.  She felt I could go to him with anything and he was not judgmental. [Yes]  He liked to care for people. [Yes]  Then, surprisingly Brandie said that he played board games to bond with me.  [He would always play Parcheesi with me whenever I asked him to.]

Apparently my father enjoyed being outdoors, she thought the outside made him feel like meditating and he would go out to reflect. [I don't know about that, but I do know that he loved taking us to the mountains in Colorado - his favorite place in the world. At one point he had purchased a half acre lot in Estes Park, CO and intended to build a vacation home there.  Unfortunately my mother's first stroke a few years later caused him to rethink building in a small town where he was not confident in the medical facilities.]  


She said that when he gave me away at my wedding it was emotional for him and a significant memory for him.  [He was extremely happy with husband no. 2. and knew he would not have to worry about me.]


He also taught me to ride a bike, I am told. [I don't remember, but I don't know who else would have taught me, certainly not my mother.]  She said dad was a picture taker.  [Absolutely - that was a big hobby for him.]  Brandie told me that dad brought a lot of joy to my childhood. [Oh yes, especially when he bought me a horse!]


Brandie thought there was something significant about dad's wedding ring and I told her he didn't have one.  She said then it has to mean that he took commitment seriously, he would not make promises he could not keep and he tried to pass that down.  [Absolutely true.] 

Brandie saw that I had a brother and that dad was very loving toward him also. [True]  He was very proud of his success. [At that point I indicated to Brandie that my brother was not particularly successful but actually that was my reaction to my estrangement from him.  My brother is a hard worker and did provide reasonably well for his family so that actually is success.  I was thinking of success as having a great career and making a large amount of money.]  She said that dad was separating me and my brother and my dad indicated that "they get on each other's nerves." [OMG, how many times did I hear that phrase when i was growing up, that one sibling or the other got on someone's nerves - usually my mother's!]  Brandie saw that there was something going on with me and my brother that makes us be separate. [True, for the last 25 years.]  I was told to not shut the door on him.  [We have emailed each other over the past couple of years.]


Back to me and my dad, Brandie said we were the closest in the family and he enjoyed that [true] and that he enjoyed our conversations when I was older.  She saw that it was significant when I came to see him and check on him when he was alone.  [True, after mom died I went over every day].  He left me with gratitude because we always had each other with mom being sick and brother being brother.  [Mom was in the hospital for a month before she died and my brother was in Australia and didn't make it home until soon after her death.]


I am so amazed.  This was more than I expected.  I am still processing all of this.  My parents have been gone for 25 years and this reading took me back to memories I hadn't thought about in a very long time.  I don't know how on earth anyone could guess all of this.  Wow . . . . I never thought I would find a good medium this fast! 

You can read about my second session with Brandie in my post of 5/30/11 and an update on the second session in my post of 7/15/11.  Brandie was consistent with her amazing accuracy and grasp of my family dynamics.  In the update I have included information I learned after discussing the reading with a niece.