a special visit

A friend's blog reminds me of something that happened to my eldest daughter after the death of my mother:

My mother died in Hospice of Dayton, a wonderful organization that helps family members to witness, in a loving and caring atmosphere, the death of a loved one. One or two hours before my mother passed away, ducks came to her window and looked in at her. There was a lovely pond and garden outside her room. They ignored me although I was sitting right by the window. At the time, I thought nothing of it, but later felt its significance.

My sister and I took turns sitting with my mother for a week while she was at hospice. I had watched her every move and studied her face. I noticed mom was changing and called the nurse in to confirm my fears. The nurse thought she had about a half a day more so I immediately called my sister and other family members including my daughter, Elyse. Susan was close by and hurried over. Less than a half an hour later my mother passed away.

Despite Elyse's attempts to get to her grandma's room on time, she was thwarted by confusion and panic as she rushed to find the room she had been to many times. As she hurried through the halls of hospice, she became aware of the most beautiful music she recalled ever hearing. At the moment she was hearing the music, she was aware of herself becoming smaller and smaller as if she was watching herself while leaving earth. She arrived at my mother's room knowing she was gone.

Elyse was very upset that she hadn't had the opportunity to say good-bye and went outside to walk around the pond. While outside her eye caught the sight of a small butterfly which began fluttering about her face, landing gently on her cheek and arm. It "played" with her for a few moments before flying away.

Later that evening when we were remembering the day together, she told me about the experiences she had in the hallway at hospice and with the butterfly. I sat for a moment before I told her. Before my mother died we had joked about her coming back as a butterfly, her favorite insect, to let us know she was alright. It would have been like my mother to "visit" Elyse to reassure her and apparently she did.