Family gatherings and holidays can be extremely difficult to deal with after the passing of a loved one, especially that first year. That first Easter, the first Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Getting through those first holidays can be one of the hardest things you will ever do, and though nothing can really ease your grief, there are a lot of indications that our loved ones that have passed, are with us during these family events.
This past Christmas was the first without mom; it was very difficult because Christmas was her favorite holiday and she always looked forward to it. I was having a particularly difficult time of it this year, and in the days before Christmas, as I was preparing for the holiday, I asked mom to give us some type of sign that she was around.
A couple of days before Christmas my daughter told me that she had a dream about her grandmother and in the dream she told my daughter that she would be coming to visit for Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, which is when we always had are family Christmas party, everyone was gathered in the living room, waiting for dinner. We had Christmas music playing on the stereo. Some of the younger kids wanted to watch something on the TV for a moment and they turned down the stereo. A few minutes later it seemed as if the music was too loud again, so I walked over to the stereo and turned it down. I turned back to the TV, but was still standing in front of the stereo as the volume slowly went up again. The song that was playing has been my favorite Christmas song since I was a child. I turned to my husband and told him that the stereo turned up by itself. He replied, “I know, it is the second time it’s done it.” I was standing right there and there is no way anyone could have turned it up. I have listened to it since then and it has not turned up on its own again.
I believe that I received a sign from my mom that she was there with us.
