My mother, who passed away at 93 years of age three years ago, told us a story from her childhood. There was an old man who lived alone with a big German shepherd dog for many years. The dog always layed beside the man in front of the fire in the evening. Years went on and the dog passed away, but he still came every evening and layed beside the old man in front of the fire. Many people saw the dog, like a shimmery cloud, definitely recognizable, just float into the room and lay down beside the old man. It went on until the old man's death.
Just three weeks before my mother's death, I went to visit her in the assisted living place where she lived. I was across the hall in the laundry room and when I stepped out into the hallway outside her door, I saw my father standing there. He had been gone for over 30 years. He didn't look at me or do anything, just stood there, like he was waiting. I saw him twice while I was there, the second time he walked off down the hall. He looked like a cloud, nothing solid, but it was him and I recognized his face and how he stood and walked. I wasn't afraid at all and felt comforted knowing that he was there watching over my mother. I wondered if she was going to go with him that day. Three weeks later, the day my mother died, she talked to my father and saw him and he was right there with her, waiting to take her with him. My sister was there and she said mom was happy to see him and anxious to go with him. It is comforting to know he was there and she was glad to go with him. I am sure they are together now. |