Meet Me Mum – One-Shot Story

Of course, my mother isn’t a rubber frog! But this one may have been her second message to our family when she died. (More about the first one later.)

It did not surprise us that this occurred. Though not Catholic, mom still witnessed or caused enough Biblical-level miracles to qualify for sainthood. The smallest one I experienced occurred when I returned to her house from my 30th high-school reunion with a splitting migraine. She placed her hands on my temples, and the pain instantly vanished. (I’ve often wished I could have bottled that, since I suffered for decades until the beasts faded away.)

But in 2010, her thoracic aorta burst, and she died soon thereafter. I didn’t make it back to Ohio in time to say goodbye in person. But I called her hospice room just before my flight, told her I loved her, and she replied “Well… You’d better!”

That was mom for you. And at least we connected.

One Stormy Black Night

On a night soon after mom’s death, one of my sisters found herself driving slowly home through a lashing black thunderstorm. On a two-lane country road with deep ditches on both sides, she glued her eyes to the tiny patch of asphalt she could see ahead of her car. And the tears she still shed over mom’s departure weren’t helping.

Then, a small green frog hopped across the road in her headlight beams. She stopped, prayed for a sign that mom was doing well in Heaven, and asked God to make that sign another frog.

Days later, she heard that a local garden center was selling its entire inventory for cents on the dollar and closing its doors forever. She dashed over to shop for goodies in its many areas and rooms. But when she entered a final room, the shelves on its walls were crawling with green rubber frogs!

She bought some for herself, our other sister, and me. In the photo, mine is perched on a piece of the granite gravestone under which mom’s, dad’s and my brother’s cremains are buried in our family cemetery.

But Another Message Came First

The instant mom died, I called her twin sister Florence to let her know. She responded cheerfully:

“Oh… I already knew THAT! When we were girls back on the farm, we sat in the same pew every Sunday. It was right up front, to the right of the center aisle. And last night, I dreamt we were girls again, walking arm-in-arm down the same aisle. But when I turned right into our regular pew, she turned left and sat across the aisle. I said, ‘Dorothy, don’t you want to join me like before?’ And she replied, ‘I can’t this time. I’m taking the bus to Canada.’ I just knew she meant Heaven.”

After that, “Taking the bus to Canada” became our family euphemism for “Going to Heaven.”

Shared Death Experiences

Even stranger events occurred when our father died. I’ve learned they are called “Shared Death Experiences.”  Dr. Raymond Moody– the physician who wrote many books about “Near Death Experiences” and who originally coined that term– did the same about some very different events that doctors, nurses, patients, families and friends had also shared with him. They often involved communication with loved ones, and sometimes even witnessing what the dying are experiencing (at least as far as any mortal is allowed).

Aunt Florence apparently received advance notice about mom’s death. And my sister, confirmation of her safe arrival. The rubber frog is also a cute reminder that answers to prayers may well come in humorous ways!

And in this case, I think we can assume that our dearly departed mother is doing EXCEEDINGLY well in Heaven!

–Dave Powell is a Westford, Mass., writer and avid amateur photographer.

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