By now you know that I believe Ruth’s spirit is near. I don’t experience her presence every day, but she’s around. If she’s not with me, she’s with one of the kids or someone near to me.
Michael’s birthday was July 10th. He’s not as convinced as me that Ruth’s spirit is with us. Some people can’t accept it. That may have changed on his birthday.
A few days prior to his special day, Mike and Kate bought a Batman action figure for Young Jackson James. The action figure spoke when you squeezed it. The second day he had it Jackson took it outside and put it into some water and Batman stopped speaking. Mike and Kate dried him out as best they could, but it didn’t make any difference. Batman was silent. Jackson still played with him, but he was now his silent partner.
Kate and Jackson made a cake for Mike’s birthday. Kate’s a lot of wonderful things, but she seldom cooks. As they presented the cake to him, Kate said, “This cake is Ruth approved.” Right on cue, the Batman action figure said, “Let’s go!” He was lying on the couch several feet from the birthday celebration and spoke on his own. He hasn’t spoken since.
Strange but true. I have no doubt it was Ruth.
A few days ago, on July 26th, my college friend, Jim, had this picture pop up on his phone. It was Ruth. He had taken it two years ago. He’d taken other photos that day, and other photos on other July 26ths, but Ruth’s picture was the one that appeared. It was one day prior to her passing ten months ago.
I had seen Jim a couple days prior. We spoke of Ruth’s celebration. He told me he wanted to speak that day but knew he couldn’t get through it without breaking down, so he didn’t. I think the picture of Ruth smiling appeared to let him know that she was ok.
The same day the picture popped up, my sister, Jackie, got a Facebook friend request from Ruth. I believe someone hacked Ruth’s Facebook account but maybe not. Two “pop ups” on the same day with friends and family are too coincidental to ignore.
And then there’s me. The first thing I do every morning is write for about an hour. First, I reread and edit anything I may be working on, and then I continue. On the morning of the 27th, ten months to the day since Ruth’s accident, the blog I had started the day before was compromised. There was a form to fill out at the beginning of the post. It asked for a name, address, telephone number, email address, followed by a comment section you might find on a hotel review form. There were five copies. My blog could be seen after the five forms.
I tried to delete them, but I couldn’t. They remained no matter what I did. I’ve been writing this blog in the same manner for over five years. This has never happened before. I can always delete unwanted words or passages. Not on that day.
In the end I copied the incomplete story and pasted it on a new page. Then I sent the original with the five forms to the trash. It’s gone. As soon as I sent it, I realized that it was ten months ago that Ruth had her accident. That’s too coincidental for me.
She uses electronic devices when she reaches out. Smoke alarms, cell phones, lamps, toys, and computers have been used to connect with us. There’s no magic or voodoo. I can’t explain it, I just know it’s there. And that’s okay with me.