THE WIND PHONE

Grandma Smokes and Parties With My Two-Year-Old

And I wholeheartedly approve

“Right there, right there! Silly!” Kelsey said, pointing into the darkness. For the third time that month, I’d assured my two-year-old that the empty corner of the room was not in fact “silly” and was even less silly so early in the morning.

As I placed my hand on the doorknob to stumble back into my room, I noticed something that alarmed my tired brain. The room smelled of cigarettes. It made no sense considering my husband and I aren’t smokers.

Had my toddler developed a secret smoking habit?

By the fifth early wake-up call, I was over all the silliness and secret smoking. It became an exhausting morning routine. Just before 4 am, the screen on the baby monitor would glow as Kelsey called for me to look at the nothingness in the empty corner that made her giggle.

In that ungodly hour, the smokey smell, which was never there at any other time, would resurface. I’d stopped checking under Kelsey’s pillow for a hidden pack of Marlboros when it finally hit me what was really going on.

For the past eight months, my husband, myself, and our two young daughters have been staying at my in-laws’ house. My husband was relocated back to his hometown for work and house hunting in this market hasn’t been going well.

Thankfully, my father-in-law has been kind enough to let us stay in his home. He is currently at his winter condo so Kelsey’s crib is in his room while he’s away. The room where she wakes up in the middle of the night to have a smoke and a laugh.

I had a feeling I knew what was so “silly” about that corner of the room and soon confirmed my suspicions.

It was the corner. The very spot my mother-in-law passed away in the early morning hours only a year and a half ago.

Although she never smoked in the house, my mother-in-law was a smoker until her last day. The smell only appeared in those instances when the corner of the room was being extra silly.

My older daughter has had experiences that make me believe she communicates with her grandmother as well. They started around the same age Kelsey is now. Joey used to tickle her deceased grandma, now Kelsey has cigarettes and shares jokes with her.

Last week, Kelsey was sick and I put her to bed early. She was miserable and cried herself to sleep. I worried into the night, hovering over her crib with that helpless mom feeling until I couldn’t stay awake any longer.

When the baby monitor glowed in the early morning, I hesitated before going into the bedroom. Instead, I watched. Bright flecks floated across the screen like dancing fairies in Neverland. It isn’t the first time that’s happened but my husband insists they are dust particles.

I know better.

Despite her sickness, Kelsey wasn’t crying when she woke me up that morning. She was giggling and looking at her favorite spot. As I entered the room, I noticed the faint smell of cigarettes in the air.

We finally found a house and are moving out of my in-laws’ next month. I wonder if my mother-in-law will make the move with us. I hope she does.

I take comfort in knowing she still finds ways to soothe my sick baby and make her laugh, even if it means smoking in the house and waking my toddler up at 4 am to party.

Here is the story of Joey’s encounter with her grandma’s spirit: