Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Because this past week was my grandpa's birthday (October 6th), I've been thinking about him.  No, he's no longer with us, and hasn't been for a long time.  He was born way back in 1884 and died in 1963.

He was my maternal grandfather (the only one I ever knew), and I was close to both him and my grandma.

I wrote a post about Grandpa when I first started blogging and thought I'd share it again today.  Here it is.

Grandpa Stops By

First of all, let me state that I do not believe in the super-natural, the occult, apparitions or ghosts.  But I saw my grandpa as clear as day a year after he died.

My first real job in the working world was as what used to be known as a secretary.  I was employed by a large company that supplied natural gas to the whole northern half of the state of Illinois.  No computers then.  I even took dictation with a pencil and steno pad.

One day at work I had such bad menstrual cramps I thought I would have to go home but decided to try to lie down for a while to see if that helped.  The door to the women's rest room on the floor on which I worked opened into a short hallway.  Immediately to the left inside the hallway, and before the door to the rest room proper which was straight ahead , there was a door that opened into a small room which was set up as kind of a lounge area.  It contained a couch and a few comfortable chairs.  I went into that room to stretch out on the couch.  When I entered I turned off the lights but left the door open in case someone else came in wanting to use the area for a work break.

I had been lying on the couch on my stomach for about ten minutes when I heard the outer door open and footsteps come into the hall and stop in the doorway.  Fully expecting to see some other woman wanting to use the lounge area, I raised myself up intending to tell her to turn on the lights and come in.  But the person standing there wasn't another woman.  It was my great, big, old, dear grandpa.  In his bib overalls, long-sleeved undershirt and high-top tennies.  He WAS there.  I know he was there.  He didn't say a thing, he just stood there for perhaps ten seconds as we looked at each other . . . and then he was gone.  I sat up, pinched myself a couple of times to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and tried to figure out what had just happened.  I wasn't frightened or upset because . . . well, it was just Grandpa. 

When I later told my mom of the experience, she reminded me that that was the way he always made an appearance when he was alive.  You would turn, and he would unexpectedly be there.  Several of his married children had nearly suffered coronaries on more than one occasion as they would walk into their kitchen and there would be Grandpa unloading some of his homegrown tomatoes onto the counter, or they'd go into the basement with a load of laundry and Grandpa would be stacking wood in a corner for their fireplace.

I might not believe in the super-natural, the occult, apparitions or ghosts, but I do believe in the spirit.  My grandpa had a quiet, strong, caring spirit, and I think that day at work he was just stopping by to check on me.  No other explanation for it.