My Grandma Paralee Gregory died on Christmas Day, 1979, when I was eleven years old. I did not know a lot about her being that my parents were never married, but not more than twenty years later she would visit me!

My husband works third shift and he had been gone not more than an hour when a cousin who was living with us came to stay overnight. I was in the children's bedroom getting them ready for bed when I looked into the hallway. I had felt someone staring at me and I shrugged it off thinking that it was my cousin who was a teen and who had developed a wild side and was equally as fond of alcohol, but as I looked up it was not the face of my young happy-go-lucky cousin, but that of my Grandma Paralee!
Before I could move towards my kids bed she simply said to me,"Baby, why is it so hot downstairs?". I was rendered speechless because it was mid December and I had been toying with the thermostat all day. She asked me the question again and when I did not answer she began to step towards me. She said "I want to see you again one day, but now is a little too soon, please turn down the heat!". With that my feet began to move towards her but then she turned and walked towards the staircase very swiftly.
I began to follow her then as I got to the bottom of the steps I noticed my cousin, who had gone to sleep on the sofa and had carelessly left the stove on. A roll of paper towels had ignited and had set fire to the kitchen curtains!
I quickly got my children out and soon the firefighters got the small blaze under control.
Had my Grandma Paralee not come back to see me not only could my children and I had been victims of house fire but also my young cousin, although careless she may have been.
I am Thankful that because of the Grandma I never really knew, she had a love for me so strong that it reached beyond the grave to say just how much she loves me still!

Contact me here: Amaghliakennedy@aol.com