Tough times

I feel like many people around me are having a tough time right now. My friend buried her son after a fatal car accident on Labor Day weekend. Two of my friend's dads are in the hospital with serious issues. My mother in law had 2 serious back surgeries last week and is in a ton of pain. My friend just had to put her dog to sleep today. My friend had a meeting with her bosses this morning at 10 am that she had a feeling was the end of her time at that job (radio sucks). My friend is having teenager issues. My friend can't buy a break health wise.  My friend just spread her dad's ashes and is struggling with his death all over again. My friend is having issues with a tenant that is involving court. Several of my friends are super sick with colds right now. My friend's 14 year old daughter had a tumor removed from her head and throat last week that was the size of a softball. They had to peel the skin from her face back to get to the tissue and bone effected by the tumor. She has lost a good amount of sensation in her face area and will need a full face reconstruction. Did I mention that she is 14 freaking years old and should only be thinking about what she is wearing to the Homecoming Dance. Some times I just don't understand why life hands us these trials??? Deep breath.  I have to remember a quote that I love....and repeat it over and over.  “I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much.” - Mother Teresa

Ghosts

OK. I may be crazy. But I have witnesses.

When I lived in my downtown condo the land it was built on was an old burial ground that was supposed to be moved when the building and developments started. The story is (read link) that when the city was ready to build on that land and the families of the deceased were asked to move the bodies/graves, but few did. Most of the bodies were those of vagrants, criminals, and paupers...so they didn't get moved and the city built on top of their graves. I cringe when I see stories on the news of bodies being found like recently at the Denver Botanic Gardens. (Note link attached is from 2008, but it was the best and most complete story on it I could find right now). It just happened a few weeks back...again. They were digging to build a new structure and found bodies. DBG is 2 blocks from my condo. OK. Scene set. Here are some things that have happened to me....that "could" be ghostly encounters from years ago....and then again recently.

My brother Bob and I were playing board games at my condo. All of a sudden the sound on the TV went down to mute. We could see the volume display on the TV go down tick-by-tick. I say, "did you do that?" Bob says, "No, where is the remote?" We both look over and it's on the table across the room. Bob and I freak then notice lid on the trash cans is swinging back and forth and back and forth. He jumps up and tells me he is getting the eff out of there. I beg him to stay. He says he's freaked and wants to go home. Sweet.

Several times while sleeping in the condo I have sworn that I felt someone touch my face. I would open my eyes and jump thinking someone was there. I was alone.

Many times I would be sleeping and feel something jump on my bed, like a cat or a small animal. I would wake up and look for my cat and she wasn't there. My friend Kathy SWORE once that she saw a white cat sitting on my kitchen chair. She swears she saw it and then she blinked again and it was gone.

The day I was moving in with Todd, I was coming from the condo with one of the last loads. The glove box on my car flew open and all of the contents flew onto the passenger seat. Not just fell out...shot out of the glove box. I didn't hit my breaks or hit a bump. It just happened. When I got to Todd's I was unloading the stuff. I walked back out to the car parked in front of the house and the doors locked. I went back inside and said, "oh haha, funny, lock the car on me as I am walking up to it." He said, "Eh, Em, the keys are on the table, I didn't do that."

After I moved in with Todd we were working on the condo on weekends to get it ready to put it on the market. TWICE we came back the following weekend and every light in the house was on. I am veeerrrry careful to make sure I turn the lights off...and would never leave ALL of them on by accident.

Now things have been pretty quiet around our house for a while. Sasha the cat has always starred at things over my head (yes, only over MY head) and hissed and then ran away. She does that often and mostly when I am sitting in the living room. We have been just ignoring that for the most part. Until recently. More things have started up again.

Ava has a baby swing we keep in the livingroom. About 2 months ago I was feeding Ava on the couch and Todd was making dinner in the kitchen. All of a sudden the baby swing started swinging back and forth. The cat was upstairs. The dog was outside. No one touched it. And it was swinging back and forth and back and forth.

Ava has a painted picture hanging in her room of a white kitty and flowers. It hangs above her changing table. My grandpa A painted it for me when I was 10. Very sentimental. When she is laying on the changing table she often smiles up at the painting and coos like she is looking at someone. Todd was the first one to point that out to me. It's kinda freaky.

The car locking thing has been happening more often. Todd has even witnessed it. I could have a short in my locking system. I could I guess.

The other night we both were up with Ava. She was fussy and we were taking turns rocking her. All of a sudden the computer monitor came on in the baby's room and lit up the room with light. Todd was sure the computer was on "sleep" and Sasha hit the mouse. He went in the room and the cat was not in there.

This weekend, the radio on my bed side table turned on LOUD. It happened 3 times. The alarm was not set. It just oddly turned on....3 times.

Not sure what to do.