I've been thinking about writing this blog post for quite a while but just haven't gotten around to it. This morning I woke up early to volunteer at the dog kennel and I heard an owl hooting right outside when I went to leave. I'll take that as my push to post this.
When I was born I was given a stuffed animal of a snowy owl. Derek traded me a siamese cat for it (I was too little and unaware to realize it was an unfair trade and the cat was pretty ugly). As he grew up Ootpik (the owl) protected him from scary dreams and helped him to get to sleep. He continued to love owls as he got older and we always talked about what it would be like to have one as a pet (this was likely influenced by Harry Potter and Hedwig's relationship). When he passed away there was only about 20 pictures on his cell phone and a few of them were of an owl that was on campus one day. It was no doubt that owls were his favourite animal.
Two days after his funeral I was flying back to BC with my mom to finish off my volleyball season. It was the last weekend of my first year and we were playing UBC (the best team in Canada West). Obviously we lost... I played alright considering the circumstance but I don't remember much of the game because I was in a fog. As my mom and I walked back to residence an owl flew right over us and into a tall tree on campus. We both looked at each other in excitement. I hadn't ever seen an owl out there (or in Winnipeg) and we chopped it up to Derek sending it as a sign. In hindsight I wish we stayed longer to watch it but we were so much in shock that we continued on our way after a couple minutes. (The next night in Winnipeg family friends of ours saw an owl fly outside their kitchen window. Their son John was Derek's longest and closest friend and they live a bay down from us so it was pretty cool.)
Leading up to the one year anniversary my mom asked Derek for a sign. She was struggling to believe he was ok/his soul was still around and she wanted some kind of affirmation. I came home for the weekend and when we woke up there was a snowy owl in flight as the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press. The caption said how the cold weather wasn't stopping it from flying... Seemed like a dumb cover story but it was exactly what we wanted and needed. (The next day Derek's friend woke up to an owl sitting on the deck at her hostel in South America. She was traveling but having a tough time with everything and missing Derek so it was the perfect sign for her).
In my second year of university I lived in an apartment with Kelly, a fifth year on my team. She tried her best to understand what I was going through and was aware of when I wanted space. I was having a really tough day and was sitting typing on skype to my mom. As I was crying I thought I heard an owl from outside my window so I got up and went to the balcony. Right outside the balcony was an owl sitting at the top of a tree. I ran inside to tell my mom, grab a sweater and my phone. It was freezing outside and my hair was wet from the shower but I stood outside for an hour with it. I took pictures using the flash and it didn't fly away. I played the Red Hot Chili Peppers song Hard to Concentrate (which we played at the funeral) and it didn't fly away. At the line "and now we are as one" it hooted again. I cried and cried and stared up at it, but eventually it did fly away. I was sad, but if it hadn't I probably would've sat out there all night.
I went to Guatemala for Christmas in 2012 and the wildlife reserve had a few owls there. Two of them were nursed back to health so on Dec. 21st we walked into the rainforest after dinner and I got to hold one of the carrying cages and release an owl. They flew off together and it was neat to be a part of that experience and even cooler that it was with an owl. The next day I was walking back to my room after lunch and an owl flew overhead. I followed it as it flew tree to tree (which is weird since owls are nocturnal). I wondered if it was one of the owls we released or a different one but it was a nice little reminder or sign that Derek is always with me.
On the second anniversary I was living in Winnipeg. We didn't think an owl would make the cover page a second year in a row, and we were right. This year it made page 6. It was a great grey owl flying and the caption said it was checking out the scenery by Highway 12.
In 2013 it seemed like an owl had moved in nearby us. I heard hooting many different times before bed or if I was playing in the backyard with the dog. Sometimes it was after I had been thinking of Derek or current issues with my family, while other times it was completely random and I didm't have something to tie it to.
On August 12/13th, 2013 I was puppy sitting at a friends house overnight. I woke up at 3 in the morning, let the puppy out to pee and checked my phone. I had a few messages from Kira, a friend from my first year. She told me that one of our fellow first years and friends Stuart had lost his twin brother. I immediately checked Facebook and was rattled. I couldn't fall back asleep and I sat there crying and trying to come up with words to send to him in he morning. I also talked to Derek and Connor (if they could hear me/were even interested in listening... I was sure Connor had more important people to be around than me) and told Derek to look out for him. Luckily I had a cute puppy that cuddled and fell asleep on my lap while I did this. I drove home as early as I could in the morning and sat with my mom (who I had called at 4 in the morning to talk to). Around 10am I had to get ready to go to an appointment. There were a bunch of crows outside being obnoxiously loud. Just before I went to leave my mom looked outside to see what was going on and she realized there was an owl in our front tree. It was bright out with a clear blue sky and this owl just sat there staring at us. We took a bunch of pictures of it and my mom said that Derek must've sent it to show that he's still here for me and listening. That owl eventually flew away also (which was good or else I would've been late for my appointment).
Right after Christmas in 2013 my dad and I drove my car to BC as I had decided to move back. My mom was at home nervous because she hadn't heard from us and we were trying to beat a storm. She took our dog for a walk after dinner to get out in hopes it would calm her and she asked for a sign to know we were ok. As she came back to the house there was an owl across the street and it swooped down over her and the house. She was excited and immediately felt a sense of calm. Maybe 10 minutes later I had service and texted her to tell her we made it to Kamloops.
On top of all the sightings there also is the abundance of owl products for sale. Our Christmas tree has close to 60 different owl ornaments and we have numerous owl decorations in our house. Not to mention owl purses, pyjamas, coffee cups, calendars, etc. Now I'm not saying that Derek made owls become big on such a large scale - I don't think he has input with corporations that produce clothing or tree decorations and said to them "hey you should put an owl on that!" It's more about his energy helping to remind us he's around.
There were a few more instances solely happening to my mom or my dad that I haven't written in this post. Because they didn't happen directly to me I decided to leave it out, but it had similar impacts when I heard the stories. As well as many owl dreams which I'm saving for another post so this one doesn't get even longer. There were also many instances of oddly placed fake owls - like when my mom and I went to Mexico the first Christmas after (because we didn't want to be in the house) and there was a plastic owl sitting beside the ice cream machine. If you knew Derek you'd know that's where he would be spending most of his time. Seeing owls has now become a large part of our lives and it serves as a reminder that Derek is still around us.
When I was born I was given a stuffed animal of a snowy owl. Derek traded me a siamese cat for it (I was too little and unaware to realize it was an unfair trade and the cat was pretty ugly). As he grew up Ootpik (the owl) protected him from scary dreams and helped him to get to sleep. He continued to love owls as he got older and we always talked about what it would be like to have one as a pet (this was likely influenced by Harry Potter and Hedwig's relationship). When he passed away there was only about 20 pictures on his cell phone and a few of them were of an owl that was on campus one day. It was no doubt that owls were his favourite animal.
Two days after his funeral I was flying back to BC with my mom to finish off my volleyball season. It was the last weekend of my first year and we were playing UBC (the best team in Canada West). Obviously we lost... I played alright considering the circumstance but I don't remember much of the game because I was in a fog. As my mom and I walked back to residence an owl flew right over us and into a tall tree on campus. We both looked at each other in excitement. I hadn't ever seen an owl out there (or in Winnipeg) and we chopped it up to Derek sending it as a sign. In hindsight I wish we stayed longer to watch it but we were so much in shock that we continued on our way after a couple minutes. (The next night in Winnipeg family friends of ours saw an owl fly outside their kitchen window. Their son John was Derek's longest and closest friend and they live a bay down from us so it was pretty cool.)
Leading up to the one year anniversary my mom asked Derek for a sign. She was struggling to believe he was ok/his soul was still around and she wanted some kind of affirmation. I came home for the weekend and when we woke up there was a snowy owl in flight as the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press. The caption said how the cold weather wasn't stopping it from flying... Seemed like a dumb cover story but it was exactly what we wanted and needed. (The next day Derek's friend woke up to an owl sitting on the deck at her hostel in South America. She was traveling but having a tough time with everything and missing Derek so it was the perfect sign for her).
In my second year of university I lived in an apartment with Kelly, a fifth year on my team. She tried her best to understand what I was going through and was aware of when I wanted space. I was having a really tough day and was sitting typing on skype to my mom. As I was crying I thought I heard an owl from outside my window so I got up and went to the balcony. Right outside the balcony was an owl sitting at the top of a tree. I ran inside to tell my mom, grab a sweater and my phone. It was freezing outside and my hair was wet from the shower but I stood outside for an hour with it. I took pictures using the flash and it didn't fly away. I played the Red Hot Chili Peppers song Hard to Concentrate (which we played at the funeral) and it didn't fly away. At the line "and now we are as one" it hooted again. I cried and cried and stared up at it, but eventually it did fly away. I was sad, but if it hadn't I probably would've sat out there all night.
I went to Guatemala for Christmas in 2012 and the wildlife reserve had a few owls there. Two of them were nursed back to health so on Dec. 21st we walked into the rainforest after dinner and I got to hold one of the carrying cages and release an owl. They flew off together and it was neat to be a part of that experience and even cooler that it was with an owl. The next day I was walking back to my room after lunch and an owl flew overhead. I followed it as it flew tree to tree (which is weird since owls are nocturnal). I wondered if it was one of the owls we released or a different one but it was a nice little reminder or sign that Derek is always with me.
On the second anniversary I was living in Winnipeg. We didn't think an owl would make the cover page a second year in a row, and we were right. This year it made page 6. It was a great grey owl flying and the caption said it was checking out the scenery by Highway 12.
In 2013 it seemed like an owl had moved in nearby us. I heard hooting many different times before bed or if I was playing in the backyard with the dog. Sometimes it was after I had been thinking of Derek or current issues with my family, while other times it was completely random and I didm't have something to tie it to.
On August 12/13th, 2013 I was puppy sitting at a friends house overnight. I woke up at 3 in the morning, let the puppy out to pee and checked my phone. I had a few messages from Kira, a friend from my first year. She told me that one of our fellow first years and friends Stuart had lost his twin brother. I immediately checked Facebook and was rattled. I couldn't fall back asleep and I sat there crying and trying to come up with words to send to him in he morning. I also talked to Derek and Connor (if they could hear me/were even interested in listening... I was sure Connor had more important people to be around than me) and told Derek to look out for him. Luckily I had a cute puppy that cuddled and fell asleep on my lap while I did this. I drove home as early as I could in the morning and sat with my mom (who I had called at 4 in the morning to talk to). Around 10am I had to get ready to go to an appointment. There were a bunch of crows outside being obnoxiously loud. Just before I went to leave my mom looked outside to see what was going on and she realized there was an owl in our front tree. It was bright out with a clear blue sky and this owl just sat there staring at us. We took a bunch of pictures of it and my mom said that Derek must've sent it to show that he's still here for me and listening. That owl eventually flew away also (which was good or else I would've been late for my appointment).
Right after Christmas in 2013 my dad and I drove my car to BC as I had decided to move back. My mom was at home nervous because she hadn't heard from us and we were trying to beat a storm. She took our dog for a walk after dinner to get out in hopes it would calm her and she asked for a sign to know we were ok. As she came back to the house there was an owl across the street and it swooped down over her and the house. She was excited and immediately felt a sense of calm. Maybe 10 minutes later I had service and texted her to tell her we made it to Kamloops.
On top of all the sightings there also is the abundance of owl products for sale. Our Christmas tree has close to 60 different owl ornaments and we have numerous owl decorations in our house. Not to mention owl purses, pyjamas, coffee cups, calendars, etc. Now I'm not saying that Derek made owls become big on such a large scale - I don't think he has input with corporations that produce clothing or tree decorations and said to them "hey you should put an owl on that!" It's more about his energy helping to remind us he's around.
There were a few more instances solely happening to my mom or my dad that I haven't written in this post. Because they didn't happen directly to me I decided to leave it out, but it had similar impacts when I heard the stories. As well as many owl dreams which I'm saving for another post so this one doesn't get even longer. There were also many instances of oddly placed fake owls - like when my mom and I went to Mexico the first Christmas after (because we didn't want to be in the house) and there was a plastic owl sitting beside the ice cream machine. If you knew Derek you'd know that's where he would be spending most of his time. Seeing owls has now become a large part of our lives and it serves as a reminder that Derek is still around us.