Less than a month after I wrote the last post, my last living grandparent died. After living a long & full life, her death was mercifully easy. Triggered by a failing heart, she slipped into a coma & died 3 days later ~ on Christmas morning.
I flew back East, to be with my family & attended her memorial service. It was good to see my whole family & I was happy to ring in the New Year with them, even if under these sad circumstances. It was cold outside & that seemed appropriate.
I have held off on writing anything about my Nana's passing until now because soon after I returned home from the East Coast, I had a dream:
I'm in the kitchen at my Nana's old house & she is there. She is confused & keeps repeating the sentiment that she must get ready for Christmas. I assure her that she is already prepared & that she has nothing to worry about. In the dream, I am aware that she has died. The phone keeps ringing & I keep answering it. I don't recognize the people on the other end, but they seem genuinely concerned about Nana. I tell them that I am her granddaughter, that I am helping her & that she will be fine.
I woke up feeling that I had *visited* with the spirit of my Nana. In the last few years of her life, she had developed a rather severe case of dementia. Most of her short term memory was gone & she was confused & upset on pretty much a daily basis. Her death was as painless as possible & I think that her *spirit* was still having a difficult time comprehending that she had died. I didn't think that she was in danger of becoming an 'earthbound spirit' (aka ghost), but I do think that she needed a bit of 'decompression time' after her physical death before she could move on.
I stayed respectfully quiet during that time.
I am writing this now because I've had a few more dreams of my Nana since then.
In the second one, we were still at her old house ~ but in the front room & there were other people there. She seemed to be going about her business.
I awoke from that dream feeling like she had made some progress in accepting her death, but she still hadn't 'crossed over'. It was comforting to feel like I was visiting with her, but even more comforting was the dream I had just about a week ago.
I dreamed that I was at a family gathering at my parents' house & as I walked into the family room, I saw my Nana standing there. At this point in the dream I realize that I know she is dead but that she may not & I am grateful for the opportunity to visit with her. She smiles & I notice the golden aura around her ~ she dissolves slowly & I transition back to sharing a meal with the rest of my family.
It seems to me that she has *crossed over* now & I feel very blessed to have been able to witness it, if only in my dreams.
