Shifting over now to the maternal side of my family.

After the reception, Cookie retold a story that my Aunt Rhoda (my mom's sister) had told her recently. Rhoda had gone to a psychic--a well-known and highly regarded one. The first question the psychic asked was "Who's Claudine?" Claudine was both my mother's name and my maternal grandmother's name.

In reference to my mother, the psychic says, she wants to express to her children that she's at peace, and all is well. She's in a bird sanctuary! And at that moment, a bird flew in the window. Seriously.

My heart glowed at this part, cuz when my mom died, we all made donations in her name to the local wildlife sanctuary that she loved and went to almost every day. And let's not forget the cardinal who's been pecking at my window since I moved in here.

Then the psychic asked, "Who's Sally?" (That's my sister) The psychic told Rhoda, "She was very needy and vulnerable with Claudine. But Claudine especially wants her to know that she's watching over her, that she doesn't have to be afraid all the time."

Sally was indeed almost completely dependent on my mom for everything, and was especially affected by my mom's death. Just today, Sally told me that she had been feeling bad that she wasn't living up to what my mother had wanted for her, and that she is starting to stand up to Dad more, and not letting him control her. So...

Now, I realize that I just went on about that TV spook, but I was nevertheless really pleased and moved to hear all this stuff. If it's not true, OK. It is still a moving fiction, and one that my soul needed to hear.