Illness Or Illusion?

Growing up, my 2 brothers and I attended a Catholic grade school that required about a 15 to 20 minute, one-way drive.

When I was in 3rd grade, I had awakened in the middle of the night with a horrible stomach flu. Needless to say, I did not go to school the next day but made my way to the couch in our family room. Next to the couch was a coffee table where I had placed a small cup of water for myself and a bucket, just in case I couldn't make it to the bathroom in time. I was exhausted from having been up all night sick and couldn't wait for my mom to take my brothers to school so I could fall asleep.

Before my mother left to take my brothers to school, she told me she had an errand to run on her way home but would be home right after that. She kissed me goodbye on the forehead and commented that I had a high fever and to try and get some rest, which I was anxiously waiting to do once they walked out the door. Since our garage was attached to our house, you could always here it opening and closing. I heard the garage door open so they could pull out of the driveway and then heard it close again as they drove off. As soon as the noise dissipated, I turned the volume down on the TV, and drifted off into a much needed sleep.

I don't know how long I had been sleeping when the following occurred and to this day, I'm not sure if my fever played a part in any of it but the following events that took place will stay with me for the rest of my life.

At some point, I woke-up parched and dehydrated. As I reached to grab the cup of water I had set on the coffee table, I remember seeing a pair of woman's legs walking toward me, between the couch and the coffee table. Assuming it was my mom but never really looking up to see a face, I asked this person to hand me my cup of water. I then felt them help me sit up and hand me the cup of water. I also clearly remember handing the cup back to them, watching them put it back on the coffee table, and then helping me to lay back down and recovering me with the blanket and like my mother had done earlier, kissing me on the forehead and commenting that I was running a high fever. Thinking this was my mom and having no reason to think otherwise, I quickly fell back to sleep.

When I fell back to sleep, I had a wonderful dream that my grandmother was sitting in the chair in our family room, talking to me about current events that were happening in my life at the time. The odd thing was, my grandmother (my mom's mom) had die 6 years earlier. I didn't feel scared in my dream, I actually felt really relaxed and peaceful, when all of a sudden, I was awakened by the sound of the garage door opening. I woke up to my mom apologizing for having taken so long to get back home but that she had been stopped by a train near a local set of train-tracks near our house. Confused, I asked her where she had gone, to which she replied, "Remember? I said I had an errand to run after I dropped the boys off at school." It took me a minute and then I said to her, "But you were home for a little bit. When did you go back out?" She said, and I will always remember this, "I've been gone since I left this morning to take the boys to school. I'm just getting home right now." Now I was really confused, who handed me my cup of water, covered me back up with the blanket and kissed my forehead?

Later that day, when I began to feel better, I told my mom what had happened and then told her about my dream. Since ghosts and spirits weren't something we talked about in my family, I was shocked when my mom looked at me and said, "Maybe my mom came to take care of you while I was gone and then stayed to chat with you in your dreams where she knew you wouldn't be afraid." My mom and I never talked about it again and to this day, I remember the events as if it just happened yesterday and I, too, am convinced that it was my grandmother's spirit taking care of me while my mother was away that morning. And if that is the case, then all I have to say is, "Thank you, Grandma."