I hate - h. a. t. e. - haunted houses at Halloween. I will scream and fight my way through them- I eventually learned the rush of adrenaline afterwards was not worth the agony of going through one... nor is it worth the
When we first moved to Germany, we lived in the building in the picture above, on the first floor. When Cade was a little over a year old, we moved to the fourth floor directly across the street. Late one night, I was checking on the boys before I went to sleep, and I glanced out one of their bedroom windows. There across the street on the third floor, the lights were dark but there was an even darker figure standing in the window. So dark, I got scared. I looked away and when I looked back, the dark figure was still there... My neighbors were downstairs, sitting outside- so I walked downstairs to ask if they saw something up there... They knew exactly what I was talking about. It was there, and it was dark, and it was the creepiest thing I've ever witnessed...
My cousins had a ghost that lived in their attic bedroom, or so my uncle says. Her name was Notme. Notme liked messes and mischief.
When I was little, there was a ghost that lived in our attic, too. It slammed the attic door whenever we'd leave it open. It liked it's privacy, I suppose. It never interacted other than the occasional slam of the attic door.
When David would deploy, if I didn't fall asleep on the couch, I'd nearly leap from the doorway onto our bed. There was something underneath the bed. And I didn't want it getting my feet. I'd tuck the covers tightly under the mattress and will myself to fall asleep...
My mom's friend had a brother named, Russell. When you walk into her house, Russell is there. He was a traveler and his belongings are all over her house- beautiful furniture and pictures and beloved things. His presence is there and truthfully, after talking to with her about him, you'd think he was just off on another adventure somewhere. He's so alive and in that house... She gifted me some candles of his once, from a cathedral in Italy, I believe... Those candles got packed in a carry on and traveled to (and from!) Germany with me in the middle of a deployment. I wasn't ever scared or frightened in the apartment after that...
My great-grandmother, Mama*, died when I was two. Like Russell, our family keeps her memory alive by telling her stories. My aunt was in an awful car accident when I was in the eighth grade. The truck she was in rolled, side to side, nose to tail. Her door slung open, and she should have been thrown out- the seat belt held her in. When the truck stopped and she caught her breath, she reached around to figure out her surroundings, and there on her chest- was my great-grandmother's crucifix that had been tucked into the visor... Not another thing was left remaining in that truck that wasn't buckled in or bolted down. Her neck was broken- the same break Christopher Reeve's had, she's in the 2% of people who recover...
There's a ghost in my living room. I've seen him twice. He lingers. He
has broad shoulders, and sits in my husband's recliner. The first time I
saw him it was an instant and he was gone. The second time, he was
there in the chair- a distinct figure, anchored to the floor, covering the seat of the chair.
When I told my mom about him tonight, she asked if perhaps it was my father-in-law who passed away mere weeks after Austin was born... I got chills from head to toe...
When I lose something, I call on St. Anthony to find it.
When you turn 16 or get deployed to a foreign land, chances are I'm going to give you a St. Christopher medallion to put inside your car, or to wear next to your dog tags.
When I'm uneasy or stressed, I usually hope to feel Russell somewhere next to me.
When life seems impossible and I need reassurance that I'm doing the right thing, Mama is somehow always right there, telling me somehow that it'll be ok...
When I told my mom about him tonight, she asked if perhaps it was my father-in-law who passed away mere weeks after Austin was born... I got chills from head to toe...
When I lose something, I call on St. Anthony to find it.
When you turn 16 or get deployed to a foreign land, chances are I'm going to give you a St. Christopher medallion to put inside your car, or to wear next to your dog tags.
When I'm uneasy or stressed, I usually hope to feel Russell somewhere next to me.
When life seems impossible and I need reassurance that I'm doing the right thing, Mama is somehow always right there, telling me somehow that it'll be ok...
I wonder, if this mysterious figure would be, could be my father-in-law. He showed up in someone's dream all those years ago- seemingly to tell my mother-in-law that he was ok... Could he? Would he show up here, in this house?
Have you ever seen a ghost? Have you been haunted? Do you feel the presence of those who have passed on? Do you keep the memory of loved ones truly alive?
*You'll notice when I refer to myself or my mom, it's spelled Momma. That's because Mama is always Mama. ;)
Have you ever seen a ghost? Have you been haunted? Do you feel the presence of those who have passed on? Do you keep the memory of loved ones truly alive?
*You'll notice when I refer to myself or my mom, it's spelled Momma. That's because Mama is always Mama. ;)
