So, I Think David Has Angels......

So tell me....what do you believe in? 

You are probably scratching your head and wondering just what I am talking about, because of course, this question could have a multitude of answers, depending on what I am referencing. So, what am I referencing? Do you believe in ghosts? The supernatural? Hauntings and all that hauntings may imply? 

Now I know that there are those who are Christian and those of other beliefs too that feel like any or all the above are verging on a walk on the dark side, which is a place none of us wants to be. Sometimes though, things come into our lives that make us literally have to question, and wonder what else is out there in the world. Is all that is unknown dark and evil, or is there simply more out there than we can possibly imagine? Is it possible to reconcile a faith-based life with the unexplained? 

Now for those of you just tuning in, or those that don't know me, I was born and raised Roman Catholic (yes, Catholics are Christians). I have a very definite belief in good and evil and I was brought up believing in heaven and hell. To this day, I am still a practicing Catholic and I still hold tight to my beliefs. 

If you are not familiar with Catholicism, let me bring you up to speed. Catholics brought you exorcisms (the banishing of demons or demonic possession from those who have been possessed) and we have a pretty definite line drawn in the sand about good vs. evil, so it should not come as a shock that I was brought up with the following beliefs. To give you the Cliffs Notes: you...say your prayers, go to Mass, pray your rosary every day, say your blessing at meals and thank God for your food,  read your bible, and most of all......don't play with ouija boards. While that last one should pertain to just about anyone, my mom was a particular stickler on ouija boards. 

This should all make sense in the fact that all you have to do is look around to know that there is true evil in the world and if you open yourself up to it, you may live or die to regret it. This is including but not limited to ghosts, demons, ouija boards (my mom REALLY hated them), seances, and fortune-tellers. Being the good Catholic girl that I am, I, for the most part, stick to these beliefs. I have no desire to know the future and while there are a few faces that have passed that I wouldn't mind seeing, I don't think I would actually do well having a real-world conversation with them. 

Where ghosts and demons are concerned, I am not much into horror, so I seldom watch or read about them, with the exception of reading about the Warrens. They do in fact fascinate me. As for ouija boards.....never in a thousand years. So with all these beliefs firmly in place, what happens when unexplained things happen that you can't deny and you can't really find a reason for? 

When I was very young, long before I was allowed to watch anything scary or even really knew about the world of scary and creepy, we lived in a house in Wichita, KS. It was an L-shaped ranch surrounded by a row of cedar trees. I hated this house as much as any four-year-old to seven-year-old could hate something. The house always made me feel creepy and certain rooms, including my own, really made me feel unsafe. At night I would go to bed and pull the covers completely over my head, no matter how hot it was. It always felt to me like someone was right beside me, breathing and watching me, and I was terrified each and every night. When I would tell my mom, she would tell me that I was being silly. Then I had a run-in with a Shadow Man that I had no idea was a Shadow Man. Not until I was an adult did I know what I saw that evening, but it left a lasting impression, and once again, my mother told me that I was being ridiculous. 

Once we left that house, I never feared the unknown or unseen again. I never felt a presence or felt unsafe around anything that wasn't definitely human. That however doesn't mean that I haven't experienced things. 

The house I currently live in is also the house I grew up in for the major part of my life. While nothing scary ever happened, we did have the occasional interior door fly open or jars mysteriously moving forward and falling off shelves (no earthquake involved), but it was not particularly frightening and I don't remember it ever even giving any of us the slightest sense of fear. 

When I was in my late teens, I did go through about a year of night terrors. It was a night after night occurrence where I would have dream paralysis over the absolute most horrid nightmares. Finally, I would come out of the paralysis and find myself screaming to the top of my lungs. My screams were loud enough to wake the dead and very definitely everyone in my house, and always my mom would nearly break her neck coming up the stairs to make sure I was okay. Once awake, I was fine, but it was a really long year for all of us. 

Nothing ever seemed to happen after that. At times I would have vivid dreams of people I had lost and dream I was having conversations with them, but even in the dreams, I knew they were leaving again, and so they were rather sad and surreal, but not scary. 

When I moved back into the house after my mom and husband died, I did notice some things with my youngest who at the time was a baby.  David always seemed to see someone or something that I couldn't. Often he would laugh and smile and coo while reaching beyond me. His focus was either above me or beside me and whatever he was looking at, always seemed to delight him. 

One night after an instance of him reaching and cooing for some unseen "thing" I had a dream that my mom was there. She was sitting on the bed talking to me and I told her about David and how he was acting. She just laughed and told me that David was seeing angels and that the angels had come to watch over him and play with him. I don't remember any more about the dream, but from that moment on, I too believed that it was probably angels he was playing with, or maybe even his daddy. Whatever or whoever it was though, it did not worry me or make me afraid. In fact, it gave me a certain sense of peace. 

So jump ahead to recently. David had a spine surgery a couple of years ago and prior to that surgery, his room was upstairs across from mine, but following the surgery, I moved him downstairs. His room is now the room that was my mom's. I have always had an audio monitor so that I could hear him at night, but it eventually died, so about three months ago, I purchased a camera monitor that has both audio and video for his room. It is connected to my phone and I can keep an eye on him all night. 

One of the first nights I had it hooked up, I noticed that there were orbs in the air. They weren't constant, but sporadic. I kind of cringed thinking that it was dust in the air or on the camera lens. I figured it was time for a really thorough house cleaning, so I cleaned like it was my job and I cleaned everything including the camera. That same night, I noticed orbs flying for about ten minutes or so, and then nothing. During that ten minutes though, David was staring off where one orb, in particular, seemed to have been. He kept smiling and reaching out, very reminiscent of when he was a baby. I could also hear him quietly making an "oooooh" noise. I thought I had left his tv on, but when I went downstairs, it was off. Hmmm.

The next day, I spent literally two hours trying to recreate the orbs with dust. I trickled dust across the lens, flipped dust into the air and literally turned on the fan, and blew dust. The dust didn't really create orbs. What came from the dust was more like little floating spots. I was both stumped and sneezing by the time I was finished. The experiment seemed to prove futile, so I did not really think much more about it after that. 

From time to time, I would still see the orbs here and there, and a couple of more times, I saw David act like he was interacting with something or someone, but it didn't worry me. In fact, as crazy as I can get about things, it didn't give me any negative vibes at all. 

Then about a week ago, I was laying in bed, and David was downstairs asleep. I happened to look at my phone and on the picture, David's room was literally alive with orbs. Without exaggeration, there were so many that on film, they seemed to be lighting up his room. What was really strange though was, the mini blind hanging on the window above his head. The window faces a dark alley and the window was shut. Suddenly, I started to see the blind roll as if into humps, something a mini blind cannot do. It can go back and forth if the wind catches it or up and down if pulled, but it cannot move in a rolling motion, but his was and then as I watched, about twenty orbs popped out of the blind and moved in all different directions and then the blind was still. It was at that moment that I decided I should hit record on the video. I recorded two full minutes of orbs going up the wall and down the wall and up towards the ceiling. Most were leaving a misty trail behind as they flew by. As this happened, David slept peacefully, with no movement or stress.

To see two-minute video of orbs flying, click here. 

This video did not stress me or worry me as I didn't feel anything negative about it. I knew what I thought it was, but still, it intrigued me, and I was curious as to what others might think was going on, so I posted it to my hometown Facebook page and to my own personal Facebook page. As you can imagine, the comments started rolling in. Some felt it was dust or dust mites, others said bugs on the camera lens, and others also saw orbs. Many were fascinated by the mist that seemed to be left behind by the orbs and someone else commented that most of the orbs seemed to be of mostly the same size and shape, which they felt would rule out dust or bugs as few dust particles or bugs are the same size and shape. Regardless of the opinions on what they were, most seemed fascinated by them, and some even watched the video frame by frame to see if anything else might have been captured. 

About an hour later, I looked at my phone again. The orb activity had appeared to stop, which I found peculiar if it were dust or dust mites, so I decided to take another video. This time I recorded it for only one minute as nothing appeared to be going on and I was pretty sure nobody wanted to watch David sleep for another minute. I also posted this second video and no one seemed to have an explanation how all my dust, dust mites, and bugs had suddenly just stopped moving when the conditions in the room had remained the same. 

Watching the second video back though, I did see something a bit unusual. About 20 seconds in, in the corner, just above David's bed, I saw a burst of sparkly light that seemed to explode and dissipate almost like a firework. I have a feeling I know who that sparkly little firecracker was. 

One-minute video with no orbs.

After watching the video's I believe that what I was seeing were angels. Perhaps David's guardian angel felt lonely or maybe they were there because, in that period of time, David needed them. Maybe though, like many times before, they were just there to play. At any rate, though, they seem to give David no stress and I felt nothing negative while watching them. 

So what does all of this mean and how does this align with my beliefs? In my way of thinking, it means that there is far more to this world than we know and that since David and I have not brought on or invited any evil into our world, like as not, there is nothing evil in any of this. Now the Shadow Man? I think that had far more to do with that house we lived in than it did with me. I think that just being as young and impressionable as I was, I was just sensitive to whatever ugly was in that house. These orbs though are something different and I believe they/it align with my beliefs just fine. 

If you are religious or spiritual at all, then you know there are angels around us all the time, and many of those poor angels have saved our behinds on more than one occasion. So who is to say that from time to time they don't just show themselves (as orbs or whatever they choose) and remind us that they do in fact exist and that they are in fact with us....all the time? 

So yeah, I think David has angels, and you know what? I am just fine with that.

Until next time.....follow your heart, follow your beliefs, and....... never doubt the existence of angels.  

The 7th Daughter and a Near Miss (Another Mom Story)

If you have followed this blog in the past, then you know that I have talked about my mom before and about her interesting life. Mom was the 7th daughter of a 7th daughter and she was told all her growing up years that because of this, she was "special." The largely known and I guess believed, legend behind this old belief is that the 7th daughter of the 7th daughter has second sight and yes, my mother definitely had second sight. So much so that she hated it and got to the point where she would never talk about it. Her mother too seemed to know things that most would not, but that is a story for another day.

Maybe it was because of this whole 7th daughter thing, but my mother attracted the craziest people and incidents all through her life. As a kid, I loved nothing more than to listen to my mom talk about her always interesting and sometimes terrifying life. It included everything from her dating the son of a mafioso, to a mysteriously red painted bathroom, to her being terrified by a shadow man of her own.

 Now, much of this might be chalked up to a vivid imagination, except my mother wasn't really like that. She was very much black and white and she wasn't one for the fantastical. Also, in my lifetime, I also had a front-row seat for some of the craziness that was her life, as it spilled over into my life and the lives of others that knew nothing about my mother's earlier experiences, so yeah, I pretty much think that there may be some truth to the whole 7th daughter thing.

There are many of my mom's stories that I could tell, and eventually will tell, because....they ought to be told. Today though, I am going to tell about one of the truly scary stories that I was actually a part of, but was much too little to remember. Listening to a story on the "Let's Not Meet," podcast, reminded me of this story, so I thought I would share it here. 

My mom was always a very pretty lady, but when she was young, she was stunning. She was a very small woman at 5'4" and she weighed maybe 100 lbs. She had long hair that she wore up and she had high cheekbones. Truly she was lovely. So when she was in her late 20's, she was a single mom (not exactly the norm for that era) living in a small apartment in Denver, CO. She worked as a 3rd shift RN, so she could be home during the day with me. At the time, I wasn't even a year old. 

One day, Mom was working around the apartment, cleaning and trying to keep up with me. The apartment we lived in was small and only had one door. It was in the front with a screen door and a solid door. In the solid door was the mail slot. It was apparently the way most received their mail back in the early 1960s, so when people knew the mailman would be coming around, they would unlock their screens so he had access to the mail slot. 

It was about mid-morning and as Mom finished up dishes, she heard a knock at her door and thinking nothing of it, went to answer it. As she did, standing in front of her, was a man in his mid 30's. He immediately and quickly, told her that he was selling magazine subscriptions and wanted to know if she was interested in buying some. Mom took one look at him, he was wearing a hat and a suit that had definitely seen better days. It appeared to be threadbare in places and somewhat wrinkled. The man carried no clipboard, no briefcase, and nothing whatsoever that would indicate he was selling anything. Mom was instantly suspicious and told him "No thank you," and she started to pull the screen door shut when he suddenly yanked it wide open. She then stepped back and tried to shut the wooden door, but the man was quick and he tried to shove his leg between the door and the jam before she could get it closed. Again, Mom was a small woman and not really a match for a full-grown man. 

Mom immediately started to panic thinking about me, just feet away and this strange man, trying to force his way into our house. She could feel herself starting to lose traction against the door as he started to push against the door with his full weight. All she could think of was if she could only get the door shut then she could put the deadbolt on, but getting that door closed was looking less and less likely. Even her mother bear adrenaline was starting to be no match for this man who obviously had an agenda my mom was not wanting to find out about. 

Just as the man's strength seemed to be overcoming my mom's, from around the corner came the mailman. He was a black man who was a good 5 inches taller and about 30 pounds heavier than the man trying to get into the apartment. The mailman stopped to assess what might be going on between this man and my now frightened to her core, mom. The mailman then walked directly up and stepped right next to the man. "Is everything alright?" he asked, looking straight at my mom and seeing the tears of relief forming in her eyes. He knew full well, that nothing was currently alright. 

"No!" mom managed to force out. "This man is trying to get into my apartment." 

The man immediately stepped back and straightened his wrinkled suit and stuttered, that he was only trying to sell her some magazines. 

"Oh," the mailman said, reaching into his parcel and pulling out three magazines, "Well you are at the wrong place sir," he continued, "I am the regular mailman for this complex and I can tell you that this nice lady gets plenty of magazines already." As he said this, he handed my mom her mail and the magazines that he had pulled from his parcel. She had never ordered these magazines but she silently held them in her hand. 

The man looked flustered, and for a second he appeared to size up the mailman. Realizing that he likely would not stand a chance against him, he mumbled something more about just selling magazines and took off, quickly walking across the street. 

Mom began to cry with relief and thanked the mailman profusely, handing him back the magazines that obviously belonged to others on his route. He took the magazines and said, "Now ma'am, I'm going to stand right here while you pull this screen door shut and lock it. Then I want you to shut that big door and lock it too. Then I want you to check all your other windows and make sure they are shut tight and locked," and finally, realizing maybe even more so than my mother, the potentially fatal mistake she had made by opening the door to this man in the first place, he said, "and ma'am, do not open your door to anyone you don't know. Next time someone might not be here to step in." 

Mom knew he was right and thanked him again and again as she did as he instructed and locked her screen. Just as promised, the mailman did not budge until he heard the deadbolt click and then the chain lock slid in place. He then took a look around and satisfied that the man had seen it in his best interest to move on, the mailman continued his deliveries.

After Mom finished checking all the windows, she began to regain her bearings a bit. She checked on me, still laying on the floor, playing with a toy, innocently oblivious to the near-miss that had just taken place. She then walked back to the front door and the window on the other side of it, just to double or maybe triple check that it was all locked up tight. As she pulled back the curtain, her breath caught in her throat and the panic began to creep up in her again. Looking diagonally across the street on the corner, leaning up against, of all things.....a public mailbox, stood the man who had tried to get into her house. He apparently had waited until the mailman had finished his rounds in the area before he came out of hiding to once again make his presence known to my mom. 

As he saw Mom peer out the window, he tipped his hat to her as he nonchalantly sucked on the butt of a half-smoked cigarette. Now this was a different time and a different day, as today, had someone been in her shoes, they would have immediately called the police. Then though, police were only called in emergencies, and as scary as the earlier incident had been, he was no longer menacing her. Now he was merely watching her, or what she assumed was her, and she knew there was no law against that. Moreover, she was not going to be viewed as a reactionary woman with an overactive imagination by the police. No, she would save that call until she thought they could actually do something. This was not the time. 

So for the next few hours, Mom stood close to the window and watched the man as he never moved from his leisurely stance against the mailbox, while he chain-smoked himself through a pack of cigarettes. At some point, my congenial disposition changed into that of a tired baby that needed fed, changed, and put down for a nap. As Mom, jumped to her motherly duties, about half an hour passed, and by the time she returned to look out the window, the man was gone. She wasn't sure if this relieved her or frightened her even more. Rather than panic though, she reminded herself that the doors and windows were locked, and at least for now, we were safe. 

The rest of the afternoon passed as fairly normal. Mom finished the work that she had left unattended when the man showed up, and only occasionally did she peek out to see if the man had returned. He did not. 

As evening approached, Mom fed me, and then she made herself a sandwich and sat down to watch the evening news. As the picture cleared and the news began, the top story was of a stewardess, that had been found dead in her apartment that afternoon. The apartment was just two blocks over from where we lived, and luckily, the police had been able to apprehend the killer, as a neighbor had heard the girl scream and the killer came running out as the neighbor ran over to check on the girl. They showed the man in handcuffs being taken to the patrol car by police. Mom let out a scream that startled me to the point of causing baby tears. There, on the tv was the man that had tried to sell Mom magazines that morning. The girl had been found with her clothes halfway off and strangled. Blessedly, her screams had stopped him from doing what Mom knew in her heart that he had intended to do to her. Now Mom called the police. 

After hearing Mom's story, the police figured that Mom had been his original target, but after the mailman stopped him, and once he realized that Mom had locked the house up tight and had no plans of leaving the apartment, the guy must have decided that she was no longer an easy target and decided to move on to someone else. 

The poor stewardess had just come in from a flight and had just gotten home when she was attacked. Did this guy offer to sell her magazines too? Did he manage to force his way into her apartment because no kind mailman came to her aid? Mom didn't know and neither did the police, all they knew was on that day, Mom and I were the lucky ones, and the poor stewardess, not so much. The poor stewardess never saw it coming.  

To this day I wonder about that mailman and I wonder if he realized that he had saved not one but two lives that day. Without him, I have no doubt that things would have turned out very differently for both Mom and me. So was this all about my mom being a 7th daughter of a 7th daughter, or was this just one of those scary near misses in life, that happens to all of us, and stays with you for the rest of your life? I wouldn't even venture a guess. 

So until we meet again......stay healthy, stay happy, and always be careful who you open the door to.