I had never really had a firm position on any belief if there are ghosts or spirits period... even though i had one occassions that had made me wonder. But, last Christmas, that belief changed dramatically.

My grandfather had died, at home, in February of 2005 after a short illness. Living over 23 hours away I went to OK for the service but left the kids (6,6, and 3) in VA. I felt uncomfortable being in the house, and seeing his bedroom, knowing he had died there but i thought it was just an issue i had with death, some not so good family history, and the fact that i was to have been there a week earlier and would have seen him before he died, that caused the feeling.

In December my entire family made the trip, for the first time since his death, to spend Christmas with my grandmother, partly to help distract her from the fact it was the first Christmas without him. We got there VERY VERY late at night. My grandmother had planned on my two girls (3 and 6) sleeping in my grandfather's old room. (Same bed, layout, furniture, etc.) I was a bit hesitant but didn't say anything, assuming still it was my issue to deal with. My youngest went right to bed the 6 year old went into the room and came back out about 10 minutes later and asked to sleep with her twin brother. When I asked why she said because she didn't want to bother Pop (my grandfather.) I thought she was tired and just hadn't said what she truly meant and consented. I checked on my youngest about 15 minutes later though and the child that normally sleeps on her tummy, with feet tucked under her, looking like a toad, was sleeping flat on her back, body straight, with her hands behind her head, elbows out, which was the way my grandfather always slept. Creeped me out but once again assumed it was my issue.

The next morning the youngest was the first one up. As she and i were in the kitchen alone fixing breakfast she stopped, looked over her shoulder and then turned back to me and said "Pop just went back to bed, he is really tired." i asked what she meant. She said that Pop had gotten up, gone to the bath room, was wearing his pj's (which she described as the ones he had died in) and then went back to bed because he was so tired. Needless to say i was freaking at this point. About that time my 6 year old daughter came in the room, i asked her if she had "seen Pop" her eyes got really big and she wanted to know why i was asking. I told her that her sister had just seen him (not what he was doing just that he had been seen) and the 6 year old said, "yeah he just came out of the bathroom." I talked to my mom about it and she said that my brother's daughter, who is a year older, had the same type of experience. She had told my brother that Pop would come talk to her when she went to bed. One night, after about an hour of listening to the child talk, like she was speaking to someone, by brother hollered into the room "Pop, let the child sleep she has school tomorrow." By the time he got from the living room to the bedroom the child was sound asleep.

Knowing my brother's daughter i would have believed she had made it up to get her way.

Knowing my 6 year old, she is old enough to understand aspects of death but she might have had the two confused and her reaction could have been based on her confusion of the subject... although the reaction was real enough that is concerned me.

Knowing my 3 year old... i have NO doubt that my grandfather was still in the house. She had never lied to me and was to young to have created such a complete story from her memory, imagination, alone. Was innocent with no preconcieved ideas of death, dying, ghosts, spirits, etc. She was sincere and certain when she saw him. Even when asked about it later by other people the details and descriptions were the same (which those with 3 year olds know, details of stories change minute by minute at that age normally) and the way she slept that first night I have no doubt that my grandfather was still there at that time.

Since then i believe he has "crossed over" because the same feeling and such isn't in the room and my youngest says he told her bye when we left at the end of that trip...

Made a believer out of me!