Jims Swan Song 

I am not a religious person, nor am I a particularly spiritual person. Jim was not religious but he did have a very spiritual side to him. The story Im about to relate is 100% true. Ive added nothing to the story, just the facts.  Its up to you to either believe or disbelieve and to take from it, what you will. 

On Tuesday, 5 April, 2011, my son Jim was taken from us far too soon.  One day shy of his 39th birthday. 

On Saturday, 9 April, 2011 the following situation happened: 

My mother, Jims grandmother, whom he was extremely close to, was feeling very sad and distressed by the whole situation. She was having a quiet moment and she was crying and she was talking to her boy.  She asked him for some sort of sign, to show her that he was okay, that he was at peace. 

She waited a few moments, and then he came to her.  No, she didnt have a vision, and no, she didnt actually hear the words out loud. Rather hard to explain exactly how he came to her but suffice to say, he did come to her.  What he told her was the following:  Grandma, Im okay, and please tell mom Im okay.  Watch for the bird. 

My mom didnt tell me the story immediately as shortly afterwards my in-laws came in.  My mom was hesitant to share her experience as she didnt want to appear to be strange.  She did however take me aside, shortly after, and she shared this story with me. She also said that after he came to her, she looked out the window and there were 2 blue jays there.  She said this gave her some sort of comfort.  I thought it was sweet but secretly thought, well, its all well and good but there are lots of birds hanging around our house so its not really much of a sign.  I didnt say that to her though as it did give her some comfort and thats a good thing. 

I would say that maybe 15 or so minutes later, my husband went outside to discard of some food that we had to throw out. Typically we do that so that the animals and birds can eat the food. While out there he saw a swan in the water, right on our shoreline. He did not know about my mom's experience but nevertheless, seeing a swan on our shoreline is something we had never seen in all the time weve been living there and he was excited and wanted us (my mom and his parents) to see the swan. 

We all ran out and sure enough, there was the swan.  My husband went over to the shore and called out to the bird to try to encourage him to come up onto the property. Sure enough, the big bird climbed up onto our property and he started to wander around.  We were so excited and I went to grab the camera.  We also grabbed some granola and my husband proceeded to toss bits and pieces over to our new friend.  He even started to eat some of the granola out of his  hand. 

This bird hung around for over 4 hours.  While out there, on this beautiful day, my niece and nephew, and my cousin arrived. We all sat out there watching this beautiful creature.  He would wander around, and then plop down on the ground for a period of time. He actually spent a great deal of time around the fire pit which oddly enough was a spot where Jim used to like to sit and have a cigarette. 

He would also puff out his chest and spread his wings and wander about.  He was very calm and not the least bit afraid of my husband who got very close to him.  At one point he came over and sat on the ground beside where his grandmother was on the deck.  He hung around her for a bit then he wandered off but remained close and on the property.  All of this time we were hoping he would not leave as we knew that Jims brotherand his family were going to arrive and we wanted them to see the swan. 

Eventually they got here and the swan stayed around for maybe 10 or so more minutes and then he got back into the water and swam away. I went back into the house to get something and around 20 minutes  later, I walked outside, JUST in time to see our new friend fly by our shoreline for a final goodbye. 

As an aside, a little background.  Several years ago Jim lived in a nearby city and there was a pond behind his house.   Each day he would go to the pond and feed the birds.  He would call his grandmother and tell her about how calming he found this and how much he loved the swans. 

After this experience, I decided to go onto the internet to find out a little bit about swans and the symbolism of the swan.  There is something called NUMENESSENSE.  I have never heard of this and in all honesty, not even quite sure exactly what it means but apparently the swan is associated with the number 6.  I cant get into a big explanation of this whole thing but it was kind of interesting to read some of this stuff as Jim was born on 6 April. 

What does all of this mean? I know what it means to me and the others who experienced this beautiful moment.  Was it a sign? 

As Ive said, Im not religious and not particularly spiritual but this sort of thing cannot be a coincidence.  We have NEVER seen a swan on this lake. My husband has since spoken to other residents and they have also not seen a swan on the lake. This includes a woman who has lived here for over 50 years. Not saying that there has never been a swan on our lake but I can assure you weve NEVER seen it. Swans tend to not spend their time alone. They are typically with a mate.  One generally does not get the chance to see a swan in flight.  Swans tend to be rather mean and nasty and are known to attack.  This bird was not the least bit nervous of my husband getting close to him. Oh, and at one point in the video that we took, my husband asked the bird if he was leaving and the bird shook his head no. Jim loved swans. Swans are associated with the #6. Jim was born on the 6th. 

Ive not even explained some of the other things that happened regarding this swan but I did want to share this experience. Some of you will say meh, ya, so they had a swan at their house, means nothing. Thats fine as its not my job to try to convince anyone of anything. Others may take comfort in the fact that maybe, there is something other than what we have here on earth.  Nobody will convince me that this swan was not sent to us as a sign that my Jim is at peace and that he is finally happy and okay and that he wanted us to know that.

Addendum:

My husband called the ministry regarding this and they said they would contact us.  A couple of weeks later we received a "certificate" from the Dept. of the Interior in the US (we're in Canada) stating the swan was hatched in 2009 in Pickering ON, in Frenchmen's Bay.  As an aside, my son Jim lived most of his young years in Pickering, ON, just minutes away from Frenchmen's Bay.  Also, a close friend of mine lived on a boat in this Bay for 5 years and always saw the swans and fed them. She said she never once saw a swan in flight. The certificate also stated that the man who tagged the swan lives in a place called Aurora, ON which is right around the corner from where my son Jim used to feed the swans at the pond several years back.  A stretch?  Perhaps but still, interesting.  The tag # is C15 and if you add 1 and 5 you get 6 which is associated with the swan apparently and also, Jim was born on the 6th.  Also, my husband spoke to a woman on our lake who has lived here for over 50 years and she told him she has never seen a swan on our lake. He also spoke to several neighbors and they said the same thing.   I'm not sure if I mentioned it in my earlier correspondence, but on the day of Jim's funeral, 13th April, after the service a large group of people came back to our home for refreshments. Several people were out on our deck and they came running in and said "Come look".  Out in the water were two swans swimming around and playing.  They did not come up on our shore but they stayed in the water for around an hour and then they flew away.  We have not seen them since BUT another interesting aside.

I have an acquaintance who lives at a different part of the lake but pretty close to our place. She heard about Jim's Swan Song and she had sent me an email telling me how she was touched by the incident.  She stated she believed in this sort of thing and that she had a story to share with me at another time, regarding some signs she received when her parent's had passed.  Several days later she contacted me to let me know of something that happened that day.  (23 April, 2011).  This was the 3rd anniversary of her mother's death.  She was very close to her mom and was thinking about her mom, and the swan story and that morning she looked out in her yard, and the lake and lo and behold, there was a swan.  This was not the same swan as it had a totally different tag.  He hung around her property for a few hours and she was able to get some pictures as well.  She had never seen a swan on our lake before this or since.  The incident gave her great comfort and while I still haven't heard the details of the signs she had originally received when her parents passed, she did say they did involved birds (but not a swan). 

Was this experience difficult to express in words?  No

Did you hear the deceased or hear something associated with the deceased?          No

Did you feel a touch or experience any physical contact from the deceased?            No

Did you see the deceased?         No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased?      No

How long did the experience last?        Close to 5 hours.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?           Experience was definitely real

            Please explain why you view the reality of your experience as real or not real:           It's real because my son liked swans, we've never seen swans on our lake and this swan was far too friendly to just be some random bird. This bird was actually responding to us and it was a bird, not a domesticated animal like a dog.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           My first reaction was to cry.  After a few minutes I had a sense of calmness. It was a beautiful experience.

Was there any emotional healing in any way following the experience?           Yes

It made me (us) feel that my son is at peace and that gives me comfort. Doesn't stop me from missing him like crazy though.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Best part was the whole experience.  No worst part.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         No                   Describe:      Not really. I have comfort in knowing that my son is at peace but it doesn't change the fact that I'm very unhappy that he's gone and that I'll never really see him again.  Nothing has changed for me other than I'm happy to know he's at peace.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     I do believe that once someone passes on, their spirit, or something is still "there" and they are able to communicate in symbolic ways.  Sometimes it may be subtle, and therefore overlooked, or in our case, it was not the least bit subtle.  My son was giving us a VERY strong message and therefore there was no mistaking it or no missing it.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     Yes to the possibility of something happening after life but no change in my belief (or lack of) regarding God. I view this as a spiritual experience, not a religious experience.

Death Compacts are when two or more living people promise among themselves that whoever dies first will try to contact the other(s).  Have you ever made such a compact?        No

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            A sense of calmness and comfort.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           Yes

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   No

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    No

Did you become aware of future events?       No

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         No

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     No

Did you meet or see any other beings other than the deceased?            No

Did you see a light?           No

Did any part of your experience seem to occur in a place other than the location described above?            No

Have you shared this experience with others?        

Yes     My sister-in-law read this experience at my son's funeral. I wrote it and she read it.  I have received NUMEROUS responses from so many people who were very touched by the story and some have shared some of their own experiences.  Even some of the most hardened people were very convinced as they know me well enough to know I'm not some sort of nut job who imagines things. Also, there were enough people who shared the experience with me so the likelihood that we were all imagining or exaggerating the experience is highly unlikely.

Have you shared this experience formally or informally with any other researcher or web site?   No

Were there any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?            No

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No 

Did you ever in your life have a near-death experience, out of body experience or other spiritual event?           No 

Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?               Yes