from Wendy Rupnow of West Allis, Wisconsin
My grandmother and I were very close; actually she raised me.My two sons and I went to visit her the night before she died (she was perfectly fine and chipper that night). When we were about to leave, she grabbed my hand and said, "You know I love you and I will take care of you even when I'm gone." I got a really weird feeling from that touch, like I knew she was going soon.
On the day we buried her, we went to my aunt's house for the meal. Something told me to look up on the telephone line, and I said to everyone "Grandma's favorite bird was a red cardinal wasn't it?" And they all said, "Yeah, why? So I pointed up to the phone line, and there sat a red cardinal looking down on us. I have never heard it get so quiet at our family get-togethers...ever, as it did that very second. It was as if grandma was saying, "I made it and I'm alright."