When she died,
We saw the angels come and take her.
As real as you and I are talking right now.
So there was always that sense that this is pretty normal.
Again,
Going back to my first grade experience,
When I was six,
St.
Peter's Grammar School in New Haven,
Connecticut,
We had a principal,
Father Plude,
Who was just the neatest,
Kindest priest you could meet.
But he would drive Sister Dominic nuts,
Who was our first grade teacher,
Because every couple of weeks or something,
He'd walk in with boxes of candy,
And unannounced,
And she would just get a paw,
And he'd just start passing them out.
We'd have these parties.
And he loved us,
And we loved him.
Well,
One morning,
I was,
It was the second floor,
A walk-up apartment,
So I was sleeping in the same room as my mother and father,
And that's when they were together,
So I was five.
And it was one morning,
And I still remember around five o'clock,
I woke up and walked over to the window,
And on the lawn,
Saw a woman dressed as a nurse,
Lying as if she was sleeping,
Holding a bouquet of flowers.
So I tried to wake my mother up.
My father was out,
And I woke my mother up,
And she said,
Go back to bed,
Go back to bed.
You're dreaming,
You're dreaming.
And I'd say,
No,
Ma,
I said,
There's a lady out there on the lawn,
She's holding flowers,
She's asleep,
She's dressed like a nurse.
No,
No,
No,
You're imagining things,
Go back to bed.
So finally,
Mother's right,
So I went back to bed.
I went to school that morning,
And found out that that's the moment Father Plue died that morning.
I'm talking to you as if that happened five minutes ago.
I can see everything out that window.
My mother died at a young age,
She was 57.
I have seen her twice.
The first time was when I was a priest in Quincy,
Massachusetts,
We were in a rectory.
And my son and I were doing the dishes.
My wife Carol was out,
I think she was working on it.
Anyway,
We're doing the dishes,
And I felt somebody go by.
And I turned around and I saw the back of my mother,
And I knew the dress,
The hairstyle,
And it was just like she ran through the room.
And the next time was right here in Santa Fe.
We had Jeremiah and Carrie and Walden before our grandson Desmond was born,
They were living with us for a year.
And they took over the guest room in the bathroom with the other end of the second floor.
And it was one day I was in our bathroom,
In our bedroom with my back to the door,
But I saw a reflection of somebody go by.
And I said to Carol,
I said,
I think my mother just ran by.
And she was a disbeliever.
I said,
No,
I think that was,
She said,
No,
No,
It was the wind or something.
Well,
Jeremiah came down the hall and he said,
Walden just ran out of the room looking to see who ran by.
So.
Oh wow.
Do you think that,
Do you think she's checking up on you or do you think she just wants you to know she's around?
I think she's keeping an eye on us.
Carol's brother passed away two years ago,
I think,
And she feels that he fixed the refrigerator here because after he was in a rehab after hip surgery up in Springfield,
Vermont,
And he said they had a sub pump in the basement that was broken.
And he kept saying in the rehab center,
So if I could only get back to the house for a half hour,
I will,
I can fix the sub pump.
And of course there was no way he could even get out of bed at that point.
Well,
He died suddenly without going into the whole story.
Well,
There was a tenant on the property who called one of Carol's sisters afterwards.
And she said,
You know,
It was the darndest thing.
Said,
I was walking around the property,
Just checking on stuff just last night.
And it was right after Eddie had died.
And he said,
All of a sudden I heard some noise in the basement,
In the cellar.
So I went downstairs and the sub pump was working.
So there's times like that,
So.
This has been episode two of Bite Size Blessings,
The podcast all about the magic and spirit that surrounds us.
If only we open our eyes to it.
And whether you choose to listen to our Bite Size offerings for that five minutes of freedom in your day,
Or the longer interviews,
We're grateful you're here.
I need to thank the Reverend Dr.
Richard Murphy for sharing his story today,
As well as the creators of the music used,
Sasha End,
Winnie the Moog,
And Raphael Crux.
For complete attribution,
Please see the Bite Size Blessings website at bitesizedblessings.
Com.
And remember,
That's bite spelled B-Y-T-E.
On the website,
You will find links to other episodes,
As well as the books and music I think will inspire and lift your day.
Thank you for listening.
And here's my one request.
Be like Richard and live into the questions.
And believe in the magic in the world.
