Can A Stranger Actually See Your Future?

Memories of my first encounter with a psychic

My grandmother liked to surround herself with what she called “interesting people.” In her opinion, these folks had something to offer the world in terms of happiness and clarity. Her tribe included healers, astrologists, psychics and priests of all denominations.

She had been a nurse in the U.S. during World War II, treating wounded soldiers in hospitals before they could return home. She told me that many of those soldiers described incredible experiences of angels guiding them to safety, or hearing the last words of their comrades after they had clearly died. Her experiences solidified her belief in spirits, guides, and reincarnation.

Sometimes, I think I knew my grandmother better than my own mom. We certainly got along better. Gran was open-minded and tough. She never stopped working or volunteering. She read a lot, had lots of ideas, and would talk to me about anything.

She told me that when she first met me soon after my birth, she thought to herself, oh, it’s YOU again.

One October, I traveled to Ohio to help her celebrate her 70th birthday. She scheduled brunch at her house so I could meet her friends. There must have been 30 people in her living room when I pulled up to her old Victorian home.

They took me into the fold and introduced me around. I was Clare’s first granddaughter, a prized possession. I envied their colorful, flowing clothes. And, although I knew they must be close to my grandmother’s age, none of them had any wrinkles. I saw lots of gray hair tied up or sticking straight out of their heads, but no wrinkles.

They were a happy, interested, and welcoming bunch.

About half way through the meal, one of my grandmother’s friends, Connie, put her hand over mine as it was sitting on the table. She stared directly into my eyes with so much intensity, I didn’t want to blink.

Oh, honey, we need to have a talk.

Connie was a little more plainly dressed than the rest of the crowd, wearing old jeans and a pale blue t-shirt. But, she was covered in crystals and wore diamonds in her ears.

She led me away from the crowd to a quiet corner of Gran’s music room so we could chat privately. She told me that someone was nudging her to speak to me and that it was of great importance.

She said that she saw an older gentleman wearing an army officer’s uniform, sitting in a dark room, drinking vodka and rolling his own cigarettes. She told me that he was laughing at me in a loving way, that he understood my frustrations with life as it was then, but assured me that I’d have everything I wanted if I’d just be patient. He wanted me to get out of my own way.

I couldn’t imagine who that man might be.

Connie continued by telling me that this older gentleman didn’t like the current man in my life and that he would not be my husband or father my children. It was crucial, according to this man, that I end the relationship because it was holding me back from achieving all I could. She used the term, “all that glitters is not gold.”

This news didn’t surprise me. I was in a relationship with someone I dated throughout college. It wasn’t working, I just didn’t know how to unwind things at the time. I was 22 years old, somewhat directionless, and afraid of being alone.

I told Connie that although I agreed with the older gentleman about my relationship, I couldn’t figure out who he was or how he knew me. She told me that she felt he had been someone important in my life and that he definitely loved me and was concerned about my future.

She went on to tell me that I shouldn’t be afraid of losing my current situation. A better one would be coming along, but I’d have to wait awhile. He wouldn’t show up until after my 30th birthday. We’d marry and have three children, including a set of twins, later in life. She was specific about those twins. I’d get a boy and a girl. My girl would be born first.

After brunch, Gran asked me about what Connie saw for me. I told her everything, including my skepticism about the army officer. I didn’t know anyone like that in all my life.

“Yes! You knew him,” Gran told me. “That was your grandfather! He was a lieutenant during the war. He’d come home on leave and go sit in that damn basement drinking his vodka while he rolled his own cigarettes.”

I didn’t know any of this about my grandfather. He had died while I was a teenager and never talked about the war, so I never knew he was a part of it.

I remember the hairs going up on the back of my neck. So my grandfather didn’t like my boyfriend? Was he around, keeping tabs on me?

I still couldn’t believe the part about having all those kids though. At the time, my relationship with my boyfriend was so bad, I couldn’t imagine ever dating anyone else, much less having kids with them.

After I returned home, I did break up with him. It took awhile and a lot of work, but my life eventually improved. I went to grad school, found a career I could live with and surrounded myself with great friends.

Over the years, I continued to visit psychics, with my grandmother, and alone. I’ve had some in my house who gave me fascinating information. Some of them acted as wonderful counselors, allowing me to see situations in a different light, helping me solve problems. Some of them told me things I didn’t believe. I took from them the things I found useful, and ignored the rest.

Interesting, though, that two more of them told me about the twins. Specifically, a boy and a girl, and that the girl would be born first.

Just as Connie suggested, my husband didn’t make an appearance in my life until I was almost 33 years old. We married a few years later and had three children in our late thirties and early forties.

If you’ve been reading my stories, you know that those children include a set of almost 20 year-old twins (a boy and a girl.)

And, as predicted, my girl came first.

Halloween is coming! Do you have a spooky or interesting story to tell? I’d love to hear it!