Grandma's Visit

Two days before Valentines day in 1998 my Grandmother passed away. I was living in North Carolina when it happened and had to travel to New Jersey for the funeral. I was devastated and hoped to get there before she passed. Unfortunately I wasn't able to and never got to say goodbye.

My family and I went to the funeral on Valentine's day. Everything was very normal and I was soon back in North Carolina. The strange occurrences start to take place about a year later. I have a couple stories to tell you.

My best friend, Laurie, and my twin sister, Michelle, had moved down from New Jersey and we all moved out on our own. After many problems with our original trailor we found ourselves, luckily, in an apartment in Raleigh. We were all working at Old Country Buffet at the time. Laurie had to work early on this particular morning and I think that Michelle was already there because I don't remember her being in the bed beside me. Michelle and I shared the master bedroom and connected to it was a little vanity area where there was a closet, sink, mirrors and a door that led to the regular bathroom. Laurie was getting ready for work and was in the vanity area. I was still trying to get some sleep so I took my blankets and covered my head. I was not asleep but I was on my way when I felt someone sit down on the right side of my bed. Since the vanity area and bathroom are on the right side of my bed I didn't think anything of it, just assumed that it was Laurie putting on her socks or her shoes. Strangely enough I didn't take the covers off of my head since I was almost falling back to sleep. Normally I would probably have taken them off and talked to her. Soon after this I fell asleep.

Later on that night I casually asked Laurie if she had sat down on my bed. She told me no, that she hadn't touched my bed. I don't know if it was my Grandmother but I think she was checking on me.

This is another strange incident that occured.

I am not psychic but I get feelings, I have done this since my early teens, especially with my family. I have to tell you a little history before I explain the occurance.

When I was 17 my house burned to the ground. When we first moved into the apartment we didn't have anything but a little couch, two chairs and a bed that Laurie had in her room. We had a bunch of friends over one night and we were all partying in the livingroom downstairs. Laurie went upstairs and she was looking for something in her closet when I entered the room. Because there was no light you can switch on from the wall we had placed a little lamp in her room and had taken the lamp shade off for more light. The lamp was not bright enough for her to see anything and she asked me to bring it closer. It was unable to reach a suitable distance so I laid it on the bed, with the bulb touching the mattress. She said that was great and I went downstairs assuming that when she was finished she would put the lamp back. She came downstairs a few minutes later and we all were partying and talking for a while. All of the sudden for some reason I got up in the middle of the conversation and started walking through the house. I made my way upstairs in a daze. When I reached the hall I looked around and when I looked into Laurie's room I saw the lamp still on the bed. I ran into the room and grabbed it up noticing the huge burn hole that had formed around the bulb. I took the lamp and brought it downstairs and showed them the bulb which had pieces of burnt mattress foam stuck to it. While I was throwing the bulb away I realized that I had gone upstairs for no reason, I had just started wandering around the house by myself, which is very unusual especially when we are partying. Something had talked to my unconscious and had led me upstairs. I am not sure if it was my grandmother, grandfather or my guardian angel, but something was watching over us that night.

This next story is the strangest one of all:

When I turned 19 a friend of mine got pregnant. One of my aunts had taught me how to crochet when I was a girl and I decided to make her a baby blanket. I went to the store and was able to pick out the colors I wanted very quickly, which is unusual for me, it normally takes me forever. I started on the blanket and had finished a good amount when my friend had a miscarriage. I was sad about the baby and wonder what in the world I was going to do with the blanket now. A few days later my mom called me from NJ and told me the good news that my Aunt is having another baby. I was shocked because she was in her forties and hadn't had a baby in 7 or 8 years although I knew they always wanted another child. I was so happy and decided I would make the blanket for her.

It took me about a month to finish and I planned on visiting her on Thanksgiving and surprising her with the blanket. Strange things started to happen the night I finished the blanket.

A couple friends, Juan and Ival came over that night to visit. I'm going to try to explain the way my living room is set up because it is important.

When you walk into my apartment there is a long hallway that leads straight into the living room at the back of the apartment. When you enter the livingroom directly to your right is our love seat on that wall. On the next wall to the right of the love seat is our couch and our coffee table is in the middle. On the other walls are our entertainment center and our shelving unit. We all said our hello's and Laurie and Michelle sat down in the love seat next to the hallway and Juan and Ival sat on the couch to the right of the love seat. I was engrossed in finishing the blanket and was sitting in the middle of the floor with my back to the back wall of the livingroom. Everyone was laughing and talking. I was not paying any attention. I finished the last stitch in the blanket and tied the knot triumphantly. As soon as the knot tied I felt a hand on the top of my head and a slight tingle went through my body. Startled, I gasped. I assumed it was Juan or Ival because in order for them to get to the hallway it would be easier for them to walk behind me and to the hallway then to climb over Laurie and Michelle's legs. I just assumed that I had been so engrossed in my project I hadn't noticed Juan or Ival getting up and walking behind me. I smiled and turned expecting to see one of the guys smiling down at me. Instead all I saw was the wall behind me. I then looked at the couch and realized that everyone was still sitting in their exact spots talking animatedly about something. I knew that it must have been my Grandmother saying she approved because she had been the one to teach my aunt, who taught me to make blankets, little did I know that it was a little more then that.

Two months later I traveled to NJ and presented my Aunt with her surprise. When she opened the blanket she loved it and commented on how I had picked the same exact colors they had painted the room. That was strange because I had originally picked the colors for my friend and also the colors weren't the usual pink, blue or yellow. I had picked a beautiful combination of purples, greens and white.

A few months later my mom called me as I was going to work. She was so excited and I asked her what was going on. She told me that my Aunt Ruby had her baby and it was a girl. I was so excited and asked her what she named her. My mom paused and said "She named her Julia, after Grandma." I felt my heart drop at the irony of it all and realized that Grandma had been with me the whole time, when I was picking the colors and making the blanket. I felt so special that she picked me to be involved.

A few months ago I found my Aunt Ruby's email address in an old email and decided to write her and see how she was doing. She replied telling me how everything was going. She mentioned that Baby Julia, who will soon be two, looks exactly like me when I was a girl. She says it is amazing how much we look alike, except that she is blond and I have red hair. I have not gotten to see my new cousin but I can't wait, I feel so close to her and hope that one day I can tell her the story of her grandmother, who although wasn't alive, took a big part in her birth.

Sorry for writing such a long entry, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for listening....