Legend has it that when you find a penny it is a sign sent from an angel as a reminder that they are still around. A sort of copper colored telegram from heaven that pleasantly interrupts your day as you stumble across one in an unexpected place. Now, I wouldn't call myself a skeptic but I am certainly cautious when it comes to believing in signs. I guess its because the loss I suffered is so great that it would break me in two if the sign was proven to be a fraud. I cannot, however, reason away the fact that Jaymon has been sending me pennies since he passed away almost four years ago. I have found so many of them and in such unusual ways that the truth easily dispels the myth and I am assured that Jaymon is in fact still around. Almost every load of laundry would produce a freshly cleaned penny, the vacuum is constantly jingling until it reluctantly spits out its copper prize. There just always seems to be a penny left in places where it simply wasn't before. My life is like an ATM but the only currency is pennies and usually Canadian ones. Jaymon was a very outspokenly proud Canadian, so much so that we had a Canadian flag cremated with him. April 2014 when we were in Paris, it was Easter Sunday and we had just tossed the key to a lock with Jaymon's name on it over the famous lock bridge. I remember that the day was full of signs, we were thinking of him more than usual that day and everywhere we turned there would be a reminder of him. At the end of the day, as we were piling our strollers, bags and exhausted selves into the cab, my Kennedy spotted two pennies on the floor of the car. Under closer expection we saw that one was from 1996, the year he was born and the other was from 2013, the year he died. Both pennies were Canadian. There is no way to explain it. I know with as much certainty as I know my own name that Jaymon is sending us pennies from heaven. Thank-you son..each penny you send me makes my world a richer place.

Seattle was Jaymon's favorite city - for obvious reasons. His hero Kurt Cobain rose to fame there and the city's vibe was very reflective of Jaymon's personal style.
The beanie he always wore, his flannel button downs, thermal long sleeved shirts.
   
Now Jaymon wasn't an avid shopper but I will never forget on our last trip as a family there, December 2012, Jaymon had me going to every store in the city looking for a striped sweater - one like the one that Kurt wore. We never ended up finding it but I still look for one every time I'm in the guys section of Abercrombie.

December 8th on a night out in the Public Market we dined right outside of the famous "gum wall". Jaymon and I ended up going outside into the alley where I took several photos of him posing in front of the grafitti wall. This is a night that I will never forget - this is a place that is sacred to me - a place we visit every December since to leave flowers and light a candle.

Last year I had a very successful meeting with a medium. She knew about the wall and as we were going there the next week I asked her to ask Jaymon to meet us there. It is absolutely mind blowing how many signs we got from him on that trip to the wall.All very personal signs that could have only come from him. 

From the get-go Jaymon's talent for playing guitar was pretty obvious. The first time he expressed an interest in playing, at about the age of 10, we took him into a small music shop on Barnet Hwy to buy him a starter guitar. It was there that he met Jimmy..a really cool looking guy who was playing in the shop. Jaymon was star struck and Jimmy took a shining to him right away. From that day on, Jimmy came to the house once a week to give Jaymon lessons and he was hooked. When we moved to Scottsdale, Jaymon took up lessons with John at the local music academy. Jaymon was the youngest guitarist in a 4 member band and I'll never forget how proud I felt when I watched them performing. Jaymon was a born rock star - he had the looks, the talent and the right amount of chill.

I've been in touch with Jimmy since Jaymon passed and he was shocked and disturbed to hear the news...as we all are. Apparantly Jaymon left an impression on him as well. Jimmy told me that he will continue to use Jaymon's memory for inspiration when he teaches.

Our cottage on the Sunshine Coast, in Half Moon Bay overlooking Sargent's Bay was the most special place on earth for Jaymon. It was a place for him where he got to spend time exploring the beach with his grandma, spend time working with his Uncle Gary, see his Uncle Brad. To him it was a place that was removed from the materialism of his regualr surrounding and he could just be himself and sit around a campfire and breathe it all in.

The coast visits are so abundant with beautiful memories. Cooper running around, family reunions where Jaymon would get into mischief with his cousin Becca, swinging on the tire that grandpa put up  - a place where our family was able to focus on one another and forget about the stuff that wasn't important. If there was only one moment in life that I could somehow convince God to let me travel in time to it would be around that bonfire with my arm around my boy's shoulder. No place else...just there..where we were complete heart and soul.

That bay is where Jaymon's and his grandfather's ashes were let go. That beach where Jaymon spent countless hours looking for crabs and catching starfish. That beautiful place where I will also end up is the place where his soul will continue to feel the love and freedom that is ours at the sunshine coast.

Jaymon was playing at his friends house one summer day and I look out the window and see his friend's mom pushing Jaymon down the street in a baby stroller. She said that he "hurt" his foot jumping over an elmo sprinkler and kinda rolled her eyes when she said it...thinking that he was making too big a deal out of it. I took him in the house and nursed him on the couch with his favorite movie Toy Story and gave him a plate of chocolate chip cookies. He seemed fine after that at least he didn't complain.

A few hours later Geoff and Dee and their girls came for dinner. "Dr. Geoff" put his hand on Jaymon's foot and felt that it was warm. He told us it was broken and after a trip to Eagle Ridge Hospital we discovered that it actually was.

When JayJay showed up in a cast for school the next week his friend's mom felt like shit. She came over with a card and appologozed and Jaymon never went back there again.

Sister number 2 arrives. By this time Jaymon was over the moon to have a new sibling. He eagerly waited her arrival and from the moment she was born could always be found attending to her. He would pick her up when she cried, feed her and even bathe her. In so many family photos up until recently Jaymon is either holding her or looking out for her. You're a luck girl Kennedy to have had such love from your big brother.

As a little boy Jaymon was always interested in the Queen of England, perhaps because his beloved Grandma is British. All on his own he had heard that she was coming to Vancouver and arranged to take the day off school so we could bring him to the Vancouver Hotel to witness her arrival. On our way, we stopped to get roses. As we stood amongst the crowd Jaymon was approached by one of the Queen's guards who asked him "if he'd like to give those roses to the Queen". We eagerly passed him over the security fence and Jaymon was taken to the steps of the hotel and blessed with a chance in a lifetime opportunity to personally greet the Queen of England.

Jaymon got a baby sister, much to his dismay :) He loved her very much..showed her much patience and kindness. Unfortunately for Jaymon, Jennah was a firecracker since birth. One evening Jaymon intercepted one of his toys from his baby sister, who was just learning to crawl. He took the toy back from her and headed back to his toy room with it. It took her a very long time but Jennah managed to make her way into the toy room, bite Jaymon on the leg so he was distracted enough to drop the toy where she was able to regain the prized possession. Even at the age of 5 he found the humour in it.

First day of school. Jaymon attended kindergarden at Heritage Mountain Elementary. I couldn't stop crying the first day he went..thinking how fast time had gone by..but he was happy to go.

after 16 hours af labour Jaymon was delivered by Dr. Curry at Royal Columbian Hospital at 6:15pm on a Saturday. He was just over 6lbs and had the longest fingers. I remember staring at him in utter awe, cradling him in my arms when a nurse popped her head in my room to announce that she would be back in a minute to get blood samples from him. She informed me that she would need to prick his foot to do that. After she left I quickly bundled him in a blanket, hid him in the hospital bed and barracaded the door with furniture so the nurse couldn't get back in...they didn't get the samples until the next day.