Woo-woo Dream Content

Valentines Day, 2022, my dad finally felt safe enough to come to our home for a small family party after months of avoiding us out of fear of contracting Covid. Hubs had bought me flowers and a huge helium heart balloon for Valentine's Day....it floated in the corner of the living room as the party took place.

We had an amazing time with Dad....ate well, drank tequila shots...even got dad singing some of his fave Abba songs. When we drove him home, he insisted he could make it into his apt. by himself, but I insisted on walking him in and getting him settled.

Before I left, he'd gotten teary eyed, told me how much he loved and appreciated me....we hugged and I gave him a kiss, which wasn't standard behavior for us as.... while a loving & caring father, he was never the huggy, hands-on type.

The next morning, as per my routine, I called to check up on him, but got no answer. I knew it was common for him to hobble down with his walker to the front of his building in the morn to grab the mail...being that he moved at a snails pace, I decided to try again in a half hour. That call too went unanswered....waited another 20 min. and with no answer, it just hit me, that he was gone.

Driving over I just knew he had passed away and was bracing myself for the experience of finding my father dead...the only question was, would he be in bed or on the floor.

As I walked in, the first sight to greet me was his dining table, all neatly cleared...papers stacked...just how he leaves is when he goes to bed...no sign of breakfast dishes or anything like that... His radio alarm was blaring from his bedroom and as I turned the corner into it...first saw his rumpled bed, him not in it, and as I turned towards his washroom, there he was, facing outwards, in the carpeted hallway of his closet area, face-first on the floor...I knew before I touched him, he was gone...but went through the motions anyway of trying to rouse him.

There was a strong sense of deja-vu....a sort of, oh yes, I always knew this was coming, and that sense was much stronger than the sense of shock. I strongly felt my dad's presence acknowledging this....acknowledging that he knew it was awful for me to have to be the one to find him like that...but that we both had sort of 'agreed to it,' previously...difficult to encapsulate with words, but that's the sort of the gist. There was a sense of us both acknowledging...oh yes, here we are...this thing.

I called an ambulance, telling them I was quite sure he was gone...and about 15 min. later, they arrived and confirmed without much ado, almost comically, considering the gravity of the situation...."yup, you were right."

It took another 2 hrs. of hubs and I waiting there for the funeral dudes to come remove his body...in that time, we cried, laughed, toasted dad with some of the booze from his liquor cabinet. Several times, I'd kneel down and gently shake him...."dad...dad,"....just in case somehow it might be possible that we'd all got it wrong...the 'ol 'anything is possible,' vibe, in action, i suppose.

I am actually very thankful for that time-lag now....I think there really is something to sitting with the deceased for a time....helps mind and heart to wrap around it all.


Now for the woo-woo:

The Valentine's, heart shaped, mylar, helium balloon that hubs gave me, that floated in the living room on Dad's last night with us, is still, over 6 months later, filled with helium and floating in my dining room. It's lost some helium, but from what I've read, for a large mylar balloon, 6 months still inflated, is pretty crazy.

The entire time, it's been floating, suspended in one place in the dining room....has never moved once...until, Last week, I turned the corner from my bedroom to observe it float around the corner, up the stairs, take a turn into my room, and hover above my bed. It remained in my room the entire day/night...when I woke the next morn, it was gone, so I began exploring...found it hovering above my daughters bed...the white ribbon hanging from it, literally dangling on her forehead a she slept.

The 3 days that followed, it floated all the way down to the basement...hit a few different spots and hovered for a few hours, then moved...is now back in the dining room, staying put...hasn't moved since.