The following is a former winner of the Amazing but Incredibly True Story Contest.
Copyright Cynthia Goodyear, 1996
I am a normal 37 year old woman that has spent life wondering about things not explainable, but have never taken my musings too seriously. I have many times experienced new places that I felt I was already familiar with, and have been in conversations that I knew at the time I had already had. I could tell you what was about to be said, and what the other person was going to do. I have also felt drawn to many different times in History, but I was never convinced of past lives and reincarnation until the events before and after my daughter's birth.
In December, 1986, I found myself in the throes of morning sickness. After being hospitalized twice for dehydration and a generally very trying pregnancy with my first child, I was apprehensive about my condition to say the least. One day shortly after this I got a visit from my grandmother. I should explain that my grandmother had just buried my young aunt, 32, who had become seriously ill while pregnant. I worried that her reaction to my pregnancy would not be pleasant. My grandmother depended on me to take her places and though she loved children, due to the circumstances explained she feared pregnancy tremendously.
You can imagine my surprise when her first words upon learning of the pregnancy were, "Someday, you'll understand all this. I know it seems harsh now...but this baby will be a blessing and the reason for her birth will be shown to you." I didn't doubt that the actual baby would be a blessing, however I was too sick at the time to wonder at her cryptic words.
During my pregnancy, I had some complications which caused me to be confined to bed rest. As I was so ill, my grandmother's health started failing also. She went to the hospital in June. I made one trip to see her, and was warned by my doctors not to leave town again, or I would risk the life of my baby. I got daily reports that Grandma was doing okay, and was healing and mending, though her prognosis changed daily.
On August 11th, at 11:30 at night, I went into labor. We had a hard time getting to the hospital, the contractions were so heavy. I was concerned because I gave birth to my first child in 4 hours. We were about 2 hours into the labor and everything was progressing nicely when my labor stopped. There was no diminishing or warning, the contractions just suddenly stopped. I was already dilated to 3 cm so you can imagine my doctor's and my surprise. I stayed in the hospital for another hour. My doctor was baffled and told me she had no explanation for the abrupt cessation of my labor. The heart monitor showed that the baby was fine, so she asked if I wanted to wait for a while or go home to wait until the contractions began again. She was sure labor would resume in the next few hours. I opted to go home and wait. I was very shaken up by the events, and felt the need to be near my son.
Around 8:00 a.m. my sister arrived, and I could tell there was something wrong. She asked where I had been as she and my parents had been trying to contact me. I explained what I had been through the previous night. My sister's face was ashen. It seems that at around 1:30 a.m., the approximate time my labor stopped, my grandmother had lapsed into a coma. She died that morning early. I went into shock, and carried my baby...dilated still to 3... for eleven more days.
When I gave birth to my daughter, she had the most startling blue eyes...my grandmother's eyes. Sometimes when I would sleep in the months that followed, I would wake up to knocks on my door. I remember waking to hear myself asking if she (my grandmother) was there. At times I would be feeding the baby in the middle of the night, and I would look down and see the face of my grandmother.
When Calaina started talking, things got even stranger. One day while I was preparing lunch when Calaina was not quite two years old, she said the first odd thing in a long series of them. She was always wanting to be in the kitchen (my grandmother was a wonderful cook). She looked at me and said, "You know, when I did the cooking, I used to put a little sugar in it." I was making sweet corn, and my grandmother had put sugar in her sweet corn, as in just about everything. I can't tell you the number of times my grandmother had told me that. "To make everything taste better, put a little sugar in it." I was stunned.
About a month later, she was in the kitchen again and looked at me and said, "You know, I always wanted you to live with us." I was caught off guard again, because my grandmother had always expressed that to me, but quickly I asked, "Who?" She answered very simply, "Why, your Grandpa and me, of course." (!)
So many other strange things have happened since then. My daughter absolutely loves Elvis Presley, as did my grandmother. At the early age of 2, she would become completely still if she heard his voice in a mall or store, or on television. She could always pick it out. When she was about 3, she asked if she could see him. She cried when I told her he was dead. My grandmother had adored Elvis. Grandma was a country singer when she was young. My daughter naturally stood and demanded an audience every time she sang. She never played ordinary instruments, like other kids. She took drumsticks and guitars and turned them into fiddles...my grandmother's favorite.
Calaina always wanted fancy clothesand had a pretend microphone in her hand most all the time. She hated when someone sang off tune. My grandmother's pet peeve was people who sang "flat". Calaina was also very thrilled to see a male Cardinal. My grandmother collected pictures and sculptures of cardinals. The things Calaina does today, though not as clear as the words spoken when she was a baby, still bring out Grandma. She started packing her daddy's lunch last year. I never asked her, nor prompted this behavior, but I was not surprised, for my grandmother had told me that she had packed her dad's lunch from the age of eight. My daughter was nine last year.
I don't know if Grandma foresaw her own death, but I do know that her words have come true. Calaina has been a wonderful blessing. She has sustained me through my grief at losing Grandma, and has been a constant reminder that Grandma lives on. I see my Grandma's smile twinkling in Calaina's eyes every day.
To contact the author, write to Cynthia Goodyear.
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