A couple of weeks ago, on a Monday morning, I arrived in at work just as I do on any other morning. I parked my car, retrieved my laptop and proceeded to my office. As I entered the building and passed by a couple of co-workers, I greeted each with a healthy "Good Morning". I unlocked my office door and began to settle in. Before I even sat down in my chair, I was greeted by Reeves. Her first name is Jessica, but when she was hired about 10 years ago, we had a couple other Jessica's already on staff. Her last name is Reeves and that is what we called her.
Even though she is now the only Jessica on staff, and she married a few years back and took her husbands last name, many of us still call her Reeves. I consider her a co-worker and a close friend. I did not ask her if it was okay that I tell this story, so I hope she is okay with it. I'm sure she will be.
She stood in my office doorway looking like she had something to say. "I would like to talk to you later, it personal, not business".
"What's up?" I asked.
"Well, I don't know if now is the right time, I don't want to upset you."
My thoughts quickly jumped around. Personal, not business. Is she going to resign? That would be business. Does she need advice about a job offer? That could be personal. I really didn't have any idea, but one thing I did know, I wasn't going to wait until later to hear it.
"Now is good. Really. Come in." I motioned to her and she came in and closed the door. She seemed nervous. She sat down on the couch across from my desk. She looked at me and began to speak. I will put this in quotes to reflect the fact that she is speaking, but I am certain this won't be an exact quote, it is paraphrasing at best.
"I almost texted you yesterday morning, but it was very early in the morning, it was around 4 or 5am. I hope you will be okay, but I know I needed to tell you." She paused and looked to me for approval to go on. I nodded and she continued.
"I had a dream about Lori Saturday night. But it was more than a dream. It was so real." She was getting a little misty as she told me. I urged her to continue.
"We were over at your house for some kind of party. It was just like any other gathering you have. The same people were over and people gathered around and were just talking. The table in the kitchen was set up for dinner. It was just like you always set it up. Everything was exactly the same. We all started to sit down for dinner and there was a place set up right next to me that was empty. And then Lori walked in and sat down."
My emotions were all over the place. I was excited to hear more, I was happy for her and I was jealous that it wasn't me. She continued.
"Lori sat down right next to me and we started talking just like we always would. She told me how excited she was that I was pregnant again. And she thanked me for being there for you at work. It was real. She was really there."
Jessica was a little emotional telling me the story and I was doing what I could to keep myself together too. Yet, I was smiling. I told her how happy I was that Lori would come visit her like that. There was more to tell…
"So then, after we were done talking, Lori got up and talked to others and I didn't see her again. At the end of the night, you came up to me and apologized. You said you were sorry for not telling me in advance, that you have this party once a year and Lori always comes back for it."
Reeves and I sat and talked for awhile after. She felt good for telling me the story and I felt great that she had such an incredible experience. I asked a lot of questions about details, trying to find out as much as I could. What did Lori look like? What was she wearing? Are you sure she didn't say anything else? She told me about her dream magnificently. So well, in fact, that if you would have heard it, you would have just assumed that she was just at my house the other night for a party. She even talked about Lilly being there and that Lilly was Lilly. Just as she knows her today. She played with her son and with the other kids that are always at my house for these gatherings.
I gave her a big hug and thanked her for sharing her experience with me. I told her again how lucky she was that Lori would come visit her like that. We each went back to work and the rest of the day was just another day. Just like any other Monday.
The following night was a Tuesday, which means it's religion night. My sitter takes Lilly to the church and then I pick her up. I drove up after work and waited outside of her room for class to end. The door opened and Lilly came bouncing out with her usual enthusiasm. Once outside, she ran down the side walk ahead of me. Always full of energy. In the car, I asked her about her day. She told me briefly about school. A little about play time and then we got around to talking about religion.
"What did you learn tonight in religion?"
"Nothing really."
I pushed more and realized that this was just going to be one of those conversations that frustrates all parents. Was your child even in the class? How is it possible that they didn't learn anything. She called out from the back seat and asked me to turn on some music. So I did.
After Lilly went to bed, I came back down and cleaned up around the counter. I opened her religion folder and found a folded up piece of paper. Just like her Mother, Lilly leaves plenty of mysterious notes, letters, stories and drawings all around the house. This one just seemed extra special. Perhaps I was still thinking about the dream that Reeves shared with me just a day earlier or perhaps Lori was just sending me a message through Lilly, or maybe it is just Lilly being Lilly. Either way, it is hard to dispute the message.
Angels are real.
