The Little Rubber Ball

Imay have actually submitted this story some years ago, but I don't remember if I did or not.

My late husband, a heavy coffee drinker, suffered from insomnia. (Small wonder.) He had a habit of waking me in the middle of the night to show me things, like a show on TV, something on the internet, or, as in many cases, weird happenings.

Now, my husband was not one to joke about ghosts and "supernatural" occurrences, and neither am I, but one night he woke me up, and I really thought he was having me on. He asked me to go into the living room and look for the little rubber ball. No explanations.

I was rather irritated because it was a weeknight, and I had to get up early the next day to drive the 75 miles to my job. I figured if I played along for a few minutes, he'd realize that I was annoyed and let me go back to bed.

I walked the length of our home and looked for the ball. It was not immediately apparent, and I finally discovered it under the rocking chair in the living room. Getting very annoyed, I went back to my room, where he was waiting.

He said, "It was on the rocking chair, wasn't it?" I told him, no, it was UNDER the rocking chair. He looked at me funny, and we both walked back to the living room. The ball was not under the rocking chair. It was not on the rocking chair. We looked around, and finally I found it. It had been placed on top of his travel coffee mug, which is the cup he always used to drink his coffee, whether traveling or not.

By now, I was wide awake. No one else was awake in the home, and it was just my husband and I about. Furthermore, I had not touched the ball, and he had been waiting in the room for me to return to tell him where it was.

I asked him if we had "visitors." He knew I meant "ghosts." He said, "No, I think it's the kids." We had two children, a daughter and a son. I looked in on both of them. They were both sound asleep, but interestingly, both were giggling in their sleep, as if they were having a funny dream... or were playing a joke on mommy and daddy. But they were both definitely deeply asleep. A gentle nudge did not wake either of them.

My husband did have a talent for being able to leave his body behind and walk as a spirit. I have also experienced that phenomenon. It's possible that we have passed that ability on to our children.

To the best of my knowledge, that was the only time my husband suspected the kids of "doing something," and neither child remembers the experience, or even dreaming of it.

My husband has been gone for nearly two years now, and periodically, I feel his presence around me and our children. Perhaps he's watching us and making sure we're safe.