Do you believe in ghosts? If you had asked me this question a few years ago, my answer would probably have been “no”. But life has a funny way of showing you new things. Tomorrow will be two years since Frank passed away. I remember us talking about dying at home or dying in Hospice. He had too many medical issues for us to even consider having him spend his last days at home but we did look at all of the possibilities. He wanted to stay home so that his ghost would remain here. I said “Frank, don’t you dare!”… and he smiled and said “But I promise to be a nice ghost, I’ll just come around and knock lightly.” He smiled but I knew that given the opportunity he would return to us as a friendly ghost.

Last year around this time, a strange thing started to happen. I would wake up in the middle of the night only to find the light in Michael’s room on and his fan on too. Now, considering that it’s the middle of February, I was sure that Michael would not be that hot that it required a fan. I also knew that he slept very soundly and did not budge until the morning. I woke up many days in a row to find the same problem. I got online to do some research. Of course, you find all kinds on the internet, but a lot of the findings suggested that ghosts come around during important dates, like anniversaries of their deaths or special days. I didn’t know what to believe, but knowing Frank I was sure that if there was a way, he would find it. The light-fan on in the middle of the night experience lasted about a week or so and then it stopped. I don’t know what caused it to stop. I have not had any other issues with that since.

At Christmas time there were times when ornaments would drop off the tree for no apparent reason. Now, I know that things like that happen to everyone, but it happened often enough to make me think that Frank was here with us, trying to get us to notice him. It was funny in its own way and I appreciated the effort. I can’t help but think of the movie Ghost where Patrick Swayze has a very hard time learning to move things in the after-life but that with enough practice, he gets his point across whenever he wants.

Last night we returned from a short skiing vacation in Colorado. Frank loved to ski and I know he would have wanted the kids to learn to ski too. They did a great job and we had a wonderful time together. After everyone was asleep I went to the bathroom in preparation for bed time. The nightstand light was on and so were the vanity and bathroom lights. All of a sudden the light in the bathrooms goes off. It was very quiet in the house and the low lights created a relaxing mood. I looked at my nightstand and I saw that the light was still on. I could see the vanity light still on… I smile at him and I can feel him smile back. He turned the light back on after about 20 seconds. It was such a nice encounter. I could feel his pride in the fact that he was so smooth, that he managed to turn off the right light at the perfect time! It was such a “Frank moment!”

I know this sounds strange to some, it actually sounds strange to me too. But tomorrow will be two years since he’s passed and I know that given a chance, he would visit us. I don’t know if any of this is true or if it's just my imagination, but I enjoy “feeling” him in action and knowing that he is here with us in spirit whenever possible.

He was a nice guy and it turns out that he is a nice ghost too.