For those who believe in this type of thing...

[square pond]

Here's one other story about our Grammy's watching out for us. My Father's mother was a real avid Gardener and bird lover. She always called me her little dickie bird. We were very close. She developed Brain cancer at about 54 and died. It was so sad, she suffered for about 3 years and could not talk. When I went to see her she would always put her hand on my cheek. She died when I was about 11. When I was married on New years eve, the doors of the church opened and I entered and there was a little chickdee flying all around the church as I walked down the Ilse. When I reached the alter the bird landed on the big wreath at the front of the church and sat there still through the entire ceremony. When my cousin got up to speak he said "I don't know about any of you but I know that little bird is Janice(my grandmothers name) come to wish her grandaughter a long and happy marriage" I still get teary thinking about it!!!!!

 

[philaround]

The last day my mom was in the hospital before being transferred to Hospice she told me that she would be going someplace else for a few days and then would go home. I was at a loss as to how to reply to this and I quess it showed on my face. My mom looked at me and then glanced out her window up into the sky and said "You know, home." I later found out that she did not know she was being transfered at the time of this conversation.

She passed away quietly in her sleep less then a week later.

 

[believe]

My Mom joined Christ in January of this year. The immediate family, except my girls, were in the room and said their goodbyes. I was the last to talk and once I told my Mom that my girls understood she was going to be with Jesus she flat lined. Many things happened in the weeks that followed that could have only been my Mom. I couldn't even begin to list them all. The majority of them happened to me, I was the closest to her besides my Dad. I treasure knowing God loves me enough to allow me glimpses of her in my life.

 

[HollyJoy]

Oh yes!! Last year, my MIL passed away from cancer. Prior to her death, she had several incidents. She was pretty much bed ridden, and couldn't move herself. She couldn't get out of bed to use the bathroom by herself. Anyway, several times, my FIL would come into the bedroom and find her sitting at the end of the bed, with her hands stretched out towards the wall. He'd ask her what she was doing, and she'd reply, "Trying to get to the angel. She's calling me." The bedroom she was in was very dim, but often she'd ask him to move her towards the bright light at the end of the bed.

 

[poohbear2]

I have one to share. When my uncle was in the hospital he was in intensive care and in and out. He kept telling my mother he had to go they are waiting for me. He kept looking at the clock when he was saying this. Finally my mother said, well go to them. That night he died. My mom wishes she had asked who was waiting for him. Creepy, huh?

I also believe in your loved ones coming back to you in dreams. I have had a few experiences with this. Very creepy also.

 

[Nancy]

This is so weird to see a topic like this on here tonight. My experience is a bit different but I am still really shook up over it. My Mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. She has been undergoing chemo and is not dealing as well with it this time around.

Last night I had a dream that my Mom came to my house and told me she needed to tell me something and she should have told me this sooner. She said her labs were not good and it looks like she doesn't have too long. She started to give me a time frame and in my dream I'm telling myself to wake up because I don't want to hear how long she has left. I woke up and was shaking so bad it took me along time to get back to sleep. I can't get this dream out of my head. I'm really worried that this is sign for me and I'm actually worried about going to sleep tonight....I don't want to dream the same thing.

 

[Dancind]

My Mom passed away from Leukemia when my daughter was just 4 months old. The next day, I was taking a nap while my baby was asleep. I had the strongest feeling of my Mom being present, I could even smell her. It was so strong that it woke me up. I went to check my daughter, and found a toy lamb in her crib that had been a gift from my Mom. I never put toys in her crib, but that one was in there. My husband said he had a dream that my Mom came to say goodbye too. I tell my daughter that Grandma is her Guardian Angel.

This one is not so comforting. On the morning of 9/11/01, just before my husband called to tell me to turn on the TV, my daughter (then age 10) woke up crying. She said there were people screaming, and something very bad had happened. I believe in psychic energy now, but we are a long way from NY. That was a very powerful one.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

There have been so many extraordinary experiences in my family that I could literally type about it all day (and I type pretty fast! ) so I will only share 1 w/you.

I had a couple of really good friends (they were twin brothers) that I met when we were 14. Sometimes we would talk about who we would marry, how many kids we thought we'd have, typical teenage stuff. Well, whenever a subject like this would come up, the one brother would always tell me he would never get married or have kids. I would say, "Why do you say that?" He told me he would not live to be older than 16. I thought maybe he was dealing w/depression or something, b/c he had his moments. Well, the next couple of yrs. went by w/no incident. Then, boom! It was after 10 p.m. when I got the call that he had been killed in a car wreck. He had just turned 16 six months earlier. I also found out that he had committed his life to Christ the week before he died. To make matters even more mysterious, when I went to his funeral I walked over toward his casket (a closed-casket ceremony, thankfully) to say my goodbyes. I swear the air felt different. I know he was there watching his own funeral. It was surreal. I don't know how he could have known for several yrs. he would not live past 16. I know he did not know how or when he would die. But it is really strange. I believe God had been preparing him for this day for a long time. That gives me some comfort anyway.

 

[WDWLVR]

I have two - one involves my mom and another my great-aunt.

My great-aunt lived with us when I was in grade school. She was suffering from what would now be called Alzheimer's. One night when I was giving her dinner she looked at the door of her room and said "Hi Ralph". I had no idea who Ralph was. When I went and asked my Mother and Grandmother they said he was a relative long since dead. Years later as I got older and we talked my Mother told me she believed that those who go before us come back and help us make the journey.

Years later when my Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer we were talking one day and I said that based on family history I wouldn't be there when she died (that great aunt died while my Grandmother was at church, my Grandmother died an hour after my mom left the nurshing home after spending all day there, etc.) but that I loved her and knew she would always be there for me. My mom died on a Sunday morning while my DH and I were at Mass - the same 7 am Mass we went to every Sunday and would go to with my mom when she was well. At her wake one of her friends told me that she had visited my Mom two days before she died and while my mom was out of it most of that last week she was awake when this friend came. She looked over at the door and waved. When Pat asked who she was waving at my Mom said Mary. Pat said Mary (meaning me) isn't there she's at work. My Mom looked right at her and said "not my Mary, Mary O'Leary". Mary O'Leary was my Mom's best friend who had died 2 years earlier.

Losing a loved one is always hard but it does give me a bit of comfort to believe that there is someone to meet them on the other side and help them.

 

[KristiKelly]

PoohBear2

I believe also that people come back to see us in our dreams. I have had several experiences.

My FIL died 2 monthes before DS was born. FIL was so excited, although we didn't find out what we were having, FIL would say that he couldn't wait to see that little boy ride his bike to their house (we just lived 1 block away at the time). DH was born the end of May, we & DH's family always went to the beach every July 4th, FIL loved this time of the year. While at the beach, I had a dream that FIL was in "his chair", wearing the same t-shirt & PJ bottoms that he liked to wear, he was holding DS & our 2 nieces were on each side of him. I told DS that he came to see Zachary in my dream & he held him. He was very happy in my dream.

The other was our dog (I know people are going to think I'm cooky, but I really believe it happened). When DH & I had our 1 year "dating" anniversary, we bought a puppy, Ike. He was truly our first baby, we loved him so much. He was rotten, but so sweet, after DS was born he very graciously took the back burner so we could focus on DS. Ike developedd arthritis @ 8 years old. When he was almost 13, Rymadyl no longer comforted him, we had made his bed downstairs as he could no longer make that journey up & down. On April 13, I went to TJMaxx to buy DH some new t's for our upcoming trip to WDW, when I came home the kitchen door was open & he came out on the garage steps to greet me. He was a Dalmatian & they are known for their "smiles". As he stood there smiling @ me with all teeth showing, wagging his tail, I sat in my car staring at him for a couple of minutes. I knew that one day I would pull up & he would not be there to greet me & I just wanted to look at him. That very night, he was in so much pain that I had to lay him down on his side, & try to comfort him. The next morning I got up around 6:30 to check on him, he was *standing* in the family room trying to sleep. DH & I always thought that he would get down & not be able to get back up, but it was the opposite in his case, he couldn't get down. Anyway, we decided on that Sunday morning that we had to let him go, the hardest thing DH & I have ever dealt with. For 3 nights after we had him put to sleep, I would have a dream, in my dream I was asleep & he would come up to my side of the bed smiling & wagging his tail. I told DH that I think he's trying to tell me "see me, I made it up the steps all by myself, I'm all better now, so stop being so sad". I know this sounds crazy & some people say that dogs don't go to heaven, they just die, I truly hope that's not true, I prayed so hard for him I really I hope I see my friend again someday. Sorry for the long post.

 

[mickeyboat]

We had our dog put to sleep about two weeks before DD#2 was born. Jake was a lab who could also smile. He would curl his lip and wrinkle up his nose so far it would make him sneeze.

DD#2 was born four days before my grandfather died. I believe he held on until he knew she had come.

DD#2 is 3 now, and ever since she was a baby, she would wrinkle up her nose, too. I say she is the reincarnation of that dog.

Denae

 

[inaminute]

My mom woke up with a headache on a Saturday morning. She was in a coma that night. I had contacted my brothers--one in New York and one in Great Britain. They wouldn't both be there until Wednesday. My sisters and I told Mom they were on their way.

On Wednesday she came out of the coma just long enough for my brothers to visit with her for a few minutes. She told my Dad, "I love you" and slipped back into the coma.

She passed away two days later. There was nothing the doctors could do.

Two weeks later was Mother's Day. I wasn't looking forward to it, and worried how I'd get through the day. As it turned out, it was fine. That night I had a dream that I was at a party. I wasn't participating, just watching and waiting. The "guests" were all relatives who had died and they were all dressed in white. There was a greenish light by the door, though. Suddenly, my Mom walked through the door with some man. He stayed in the background, but was never far from my mother. All of the pary goers started smiling and greeting her. Some hugged her. They were all happy to see her. When she spotted me, she walked over and told me that she loved me (along with some other things dealing with our somewhat rocky relationship) and gave me a hug.

That was when I woke up. To this day I can feel her arms around me. That was the most realistic dream I ever had. It was wonderful!

I like to think it was my mom coming to say a special goodbye.

 

[poohbear2]

MICKEYBOAT

That is funny about what you said about your DD being a reincarnation of your dog. I always have said that my son was a reincarnation of my cat! My cat was orange tiger striped and my son has the same color hair. He also does funny things like my cat did. I laugh about it but gee, you never know do you??

 

[JVL1018]

My Gram died at 98 in 2000, her name was Ismene, a name I had never seen other than when I looked it up and saw it was in Greek Mythology(oedipus's daughter, I believe).
A month after she died, I was sitting in my MOm's kicthen flipping through a Reader's Digest, and while reading an article, had to do a double take, in the article was something about a woman named Ismene. I knew it had to be a sign.
My MOm got diagnosed with cancer on April 12th of this year. I was in my backyard, crying, and I looked up and saw one branch on my maple tree full of leaves, the entire rest of the tree didn't have buds on it yet.
Onm June 10th I notcied that the one branch that had bloomed so early was dead, all the leaves were brown, the rest of the tree was full an dgreen. My Mom died suddenly(heart attack we believe) June 12th.

Right after my Mom's death I was reading the novel,Big Stone Gap. I wasn't in the mood, but I had started it before she died, and needed to finish it and get it back to the library.
The woman in the book went to Italy to visit long lost relatives, she asked why one of her aunts had never been married and was told that things didn't work out with her true love, a boy form Sestri Levante.
Sestri Levante is the town in which my Gram(and she was my Mom's mom) was born-again, I had never seen it anywhere except in researching it myself. I took it as a sign that Mom and Gram were together in Heaven now. I literally dropped the book when I saw Sestri Levante.

THEN a week after my Mom died, my husband and kids and I were driving over to see my Dad, and I said to DH-we need to get that recipe for shish kebobs Mom had, I want to make them soon.
Well after dinner with my Dad, I am rinsing off the dishes at the sink when I piece of paper catches my eye. Next to the sink was the recipe for the shish kebob marinade.
My Mom is always with me, always.

 

[luvwinnie]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

5 days before my mom passed away I had a dream that I was in the hosp lobby waiting while she had some minor surgery...a woman I don't know walked up to me and said "My friend called and said your mom is at Leber's (that is the funeral home we use):...I became hysterical and said "no, you're wrong, that can't be" and I called my mom in her hosp room and she said to me "I don't feel well. I'm very tired. I'm falling. I'm falling." THe pain was so intense...I woke up crying and cried most of that day and had to go se my mom that night.
It's even stranger because what happened in the hosp was that my mom DID fall..she got out of bed (no one knows why) and the nurse saw her heart rate fall on the monitor. She went it, got her back in bed and she said "I'm so tired. I'm so weak." And then her heart stopped.
This all happened somewhere from about 4 a.m. to 4:48 (her official time of death..we are getting the hosp chart for more details)...that morning I sat up straight in bed and felt like my breathing was labored, I jumped so fast I woke up dh, but then I went back to sleep...my sister also woke up at 4 and couldn't sleep and felt as if she had to call the hosp. She didn't because my mom was supposed to come home that day, there was no indication she was going to pass that morning.
The night before she passed away, my eldest niece went to see her and she said when she was leaving my mom was staring at her so intently she felt like it was the last time she would look at her.
THis is getting long, so I'll add one more: DH ordered me flowers yesterday he saw a photo of online yesterday with balloons to just try to make my day a bit easier. WHen the flowers arrived I immediately notice they were the same big white full flowers (I think mums) that my dad chose for his flowers to put on my mom's casket...I called and asked dh if he specified that flower and he said no, they were supposed to be another kind. He showed me a photo and the flowers he picked were nothing like what arrived...plus he ordered a THINKING OF YOU balloon and I got a THANK YOU...I thinkmy mom ordered those flowers and balloon!

 

[slo]

This story has nothing to do with a human in my family, but with my dog.

My beloved dog, a German Shepherd named Sampson, was diagnosed with Lymphnoma at the age of 5 two years ago. When we found out about his cancer he was so sick there was no helping him and we had to put him to sleep not even 24 hrs later. The day we put him to sleep we told my DD (4 yrs old at the time) that Sampson was not coming home and that he had to go to heaven. We knew that this was going to be devostating for her, because they loved each other very much.

After we told her we walked outside and DD says, "Mommy! Daddy! There's a sick bird!!". We rushed over to the driveway and sure enough there was this bird struggling to get up. My DH scooped up the bird and held it trying to calm it down because it was very upset. DD says, "Can I see the bird?" We said sure and DH held the bird for her to see and she lightly petted the birds head and told it that it was going to be okay. Immediately afterwards the bird died in my DH's hands - just went limp and died. We swear to this day, that this was Sampson's way of saying goodbye to our DD, by coming to her as a bird so he could have one last look at her.

His death was devostating to all of us and I am holding back the tears writing this story. It has been 2 yrs since this happened - July 12th to be exact - and I believe I will never stop mourning his death.

 

[G&J's Mom]

When DH's uncle died of cancer a couple of years ago, he was in alot of pain and was incoherant. At one point, he became very peaceful and looked up at his wife and ver clearly said, "I am going home". He closed his eyes and was gone.

My mother died in April 2002. My kids are now 4 (dd) and 2 (ds) so they will only remember her through me. Several months ago I was very upset, wishing I could talk to my mom and missing her terribly. Afer a time I was ok and pulled myself together so my kids would not see me upset. A few hours later I walked by DD 4 and she was giggling and talking on a play phone very excitedly. I did not think much about it, and went on about my business. The next time I came by, she was still on the phone grinning from ear to ear and chatting away. I stopped and asked her who she was talking to. She held out the phone to me and smiled and said, "Mama, it's Gramma Mike." I was taken aback briefly, but then I had to smile and felt so much better realizing that mom did hear me. DD also says that she sees my mom. I hear DD talk to her alot. I have gotten used to it and it makes me feel so happy that just possibly my mother is watching over us.

On another note, one of my mothers last words to me were about DH, cause she thought he was a loser. She said, "he is never going to change". She definitely got that right.

Denise

 

[alliecats]

These are all such amazing stories. I truly believe in this phenomena, with animals and people. I think those who don't just haven't experienced it yet, or aren't able to recognize it for what it is when it happens.
So here is a little bump for more sharing.

 

[luvwinnie]

Also, my sister, my uncle and I are have all had phone calls where no one answers...mine came at 12:30 at night.

Ok, here is the most "concrete" one...my mom was very close to one of her dialysis techs...he came to the funeral and told me he and his cousin (whom he lives with) have had things like this happen before...his cousin woke up the night my mom passed on and saw a woman standing in the doorway of their living room...the cousin described the woman to the technician and said "I believe she was looking for you"...she described my MOM.

 

[ZachnElli]

My dh's grandma, who he was very close to, died 5 years ago. We rushed to be with her in her final days. She was completely coherent except she kept talking to an imaginary person. Dh's aunt finally asked who she was talking to and she said Melinda. Everyone thought she was just losing it. As they were talking about it later, out of the hospital room, dh's Uncle Mike walked in and they told him that she says she is talking to this Melinda. Uncle Mike turned white as a ghost. Everyone there forgot about Uncle Mike's baby daughter Melinda who had died at 3 months old to SIDS. Mike and his wife didn't forget! Later, we were going through pictures and I came across a picture of Melinda. It was just amazing and weird! It was like Melinda was waiting for her grandma!