Many adult children express the idea that their mother was a saint.  I am not sure how many of these mothers actually WERE saints, but my mother certainly fit the bill. I first observed her specialness right after my brother was born with severe multiple disabilities; deaf, blind, cleft palate, misshapen head with irregular brain, and severely developmentally delayed.

The doctors urged my mother to “let him go,” but she refused. He had to be fed with an eye dropper, and half of the precious formula would roll down his cheeks. Curtis cried constantly, as did my mother, sprawled across her bed. I was only four years old and confused over this change in her. One day while watching Captain Kangaroo on our small, grainy, black and white TV, a brilliant glow came from her bedroom. After that incident, my mother stopped crying. She started to smile and laugh, and once again was my mom.  Years later, she told me that on that particular day, while sitting in the rocking chair trying to console Curtis, she was visited by God. He/She appeared as this glorious light which enveloped and calmed her.  From that day forward, she commenced to live her life with all-encompassing love and gusto, always generous with others, positive and optimistic.

I was able to glimpse another spiritual event in her life when I was in my late teens. As usual, we were camping in Florida for the winter.  She woke in the middle of the night and bolted upright up in bed, trembling and joyful.  She explained she had a weird dream that seemed so real. The all-encompassing light of God was there, and she was standing by His/Her side, welcoming Loretta into “heaven”.  It wasn’t until we returned to Rhode Island two months later that we found out that my boyfriend’s mother had died on that exact date at the exact time. Of course, her name was Loretta.

 Influenced by my mother’s experiences, I have always been fascinated with the whole concept of the afterlife. In college, I wrote a term paper about Dr. Raymond Moody and his book “Life after Life,” and became enthralled with the affirmation of a glorious eternity. Yesterday, I went to see the movie “After Death”, which was technically a rehash of the information proposed by Moody 50 years ago. During all those years, the experiences have remained consistent. While many might discount the stories of people who have died and then been resuscitated as crazy, these same crazy stories have been echoed thousands of times.

The person “dies”, (either their hearts stop on the operating table, they are in terrible car accidents or hit with a bolt of lightning.)   They first report an out of body experience where they view their bodies from a distance.  Many people report things such as what the doctors were talking about during the surgery, what unusual instruments were used, and the exact time of death on the clock, which they could not have possibly seen from their position on the operating table. After that, they float up a long tunnel, summoned by a magnificent, beautifully bright light. At the end, they are enveloped in pure love, a love far beyond anything they had felt while they were alive. They are affectionately and joyfully met by friends and relatives who have passed away before them.  However, at this point, they are told telepathically that it is not their time to die, that they still have living to do.

 People who were blind reported they could see the incredibly beautiful colors in “heaven”, and people who were deaf reported they could hear the exquisite music. People who had been wheelchair bound had full use of their ethereal bodies.  This information is so important to me…Curtis would be perfect in “heaven”! My son, Francis, will be able to see, and my daughter, Marie, will be able to hear.  Most importantly for me, my children Marie and Angel, who had been so horrifically abused as infants and toddlers, will be free of those tormenting thoughts.

Those who were resuscitated did not want to leave “heaven” but were gently sent back with the unspoken command to love one another.  They all reported the feeling of peace, love, and joy.