Call Waiting from the Other Side (submitted 10/6/2003)

As a result of this situation, about a month after Mom died, two of my sisters became concerned that, because of a lack of preparation, Mom wouldn't be adjusting well to "life on the other side". My sisters' solution to this was what I considered an ill conceived plan to hold a seance at Mom's house, complete with Ouija board and candles, etc. Having had some small experience myself with Ouija boards (negative), I phoned my sister to try to dissuade her from this course of action.

Anyway, I was on the phone with my sister Ellen, and she was crying and saying something like, "We just want to know that Mom is alright, if she could just give us some sign"...at which point my call-waiting beeped. I asked my sister to hang on, and held the phone away from me to check the caller ID on the handset.

There was nothing on the handset, it was a complete blank. With my caller ID there is ALWAYS a display of the incoming info, even if it only reads "unknown caller" or "blocked call". Irritated by my "malfunctioning" phone, I hit the "flash" button, put the phone to my ear and said, "Hello". There was no response, just a low noise like a cross between a hum and a whine. After a couple more "Hello's", I switched back to my sister. She was continuing her thoughts about Mom giving us a "sign" and my call-waiting beeped again.

Again a blank display and the same background noise when I answered. This time though, I was struck by the timing, and the hum became the silence of a "dead" line. I said, "Mom, is that you?" No response. With goosebumps all over my body, I listened to the silence for a moment. Then I said, "I love you Mom, and I'll tell Ellen that you're OK over there".

As I finished my thought, my call-waiting beeped again. I said, "I love you and I miss you Mom", and looked at my caller ID. This time it was my sister calling, the caller ID correctly displayed her name and number. My sister wanted to know why I had hung up on her. I replied that I hadn't, and I told her the rest of the story.

Apparently, after I hung up on her the first time, Mom wanted to make sure I would keep listening when she called back. When I clicked over to Mom the second time, my sister was immediately disconnected. She tried to call me back and got a busy signal (which should not have happened since I have call-waiting) but the busy signal that she was getting abruptly changed over to a ring tone - "beep-beep- beep be-brrring".

Two things: first, my caller ID has not malfunctioned before or since, and secondly: I have a base unit caller ID on another phone in my home which is also in perfect working order. That unit had no record of any incoming call other than my sister's for that time frame. Also, the call came at exactly the moment when my sister was expressing her wish for a "sign" from Mom. I don't believe in coincidence, and my Mom was a gently persistent woman. I believe that when I didn't "get it" the first time, she called back, as she had so many times in life.

So that is my story. I consider my experience to be a gift, for myself because I got to tell my Mom I loved her one last time, and for my siblings because they accepted the call as a message from Mom, and never felt the need for a seance after such a direct communication. Guess my Mom was taking care of the ones she loves, as she always has.

Sincerely,
(name withheld)