Jamie sees ghosts...all the time. So when her oldest son started seeing them too, she knew it was time to face facts and admit what was happening, not just for her own peace of mind, but for her son's sake as well. This is her story.
"Our Special Club" - Jamie's Story
Something I have spent the majority of my life avoiding is ghosts. I have had interactions with them for as long as I can remember and if you ask my mom, even before I can remember. I have avoided them partially out of fear built up over the years, but originally I avoided them because of the stigma and the loneliness I experienced being that kind of “different”. I’ve decided to stop avoiding them. I’m taking baby steps to embrace this ability and learn what I need to learn to still feel in control of my pragmatic life. Why now? What changed? My son. My gifted oldest is my main "Why". I have 2 sons, but only one has exhibited signs that are all too familiar to me. It began in his infancy. He woke up many nights screaming and trembling and seeming genuinely frightened by something. He would also tell us how “shadows were pinching him” and how all the talking in his room was keeping him awake. We’ve also watched him play and interact with people we couldn’t see. He has been able to answer questions or complain about orders that haven’t been spoken out loud, but were being thought of at that exact moment. This particular skill has lessened over his five years, but we still have a kid with an extraordinary gift on I want him to feel supported and accepted. I want him to know that someone understands what he’s dealing with, but first, I must allow myself to accept my own “gift”. How can I lead and support him unless I do?
our hands.
I was wrong.
His anxiety continued to grow. What I didn’t take into consideration was the rest of the world’s reactions to his stories. As a parent, sometimes I forget that I am not the entire world to this baby (excuse me, five year old…) anymore. He was still terrified of the dark and being alone and he still seemed hesitant to share what he was experiencing.
The constant feedback he was receiving from the world in general (friends, grandma, television, etc.) was that ghosts aren’t real. Imagine how confusing this must have been for him! What I realized was that I was not helping by simply listening to him without judgment. He needed validation.
One day, I made a choice to have a conversation with him, an event that I thought would happen much later down the road, but I knew it couldn’t wait. It was sad and frustrating to watch him react in such an anxious way to his experiences and, it was bleeding over into all of his everyday experiences, not just the paranormal ones.
We sat down one afternoon and discussed the way he and I are “special”. I explained that I knew what he was seeing and hearing was real, but not everyone else agreed. As the words rolled off my tongue, I could see the anxiety being lifted. He and I had our own special club. For the first time in a while, I saw a child-like lightness in him. We talked about how some people just can’t see or hear what we do, so they don’t believe it’s real. And we talked about the people in our lives that DO believe us, and how maybe we should only talk to those people about our experiences. You may think that this was too much for a five year old to comprehend, but he clearly got it. The smile on his face showed me that.
He was so excited about our special club, that as soon as his daddy got home, he promptly told him that he and I had this club that daddy was not invited to be a part of because he was not special like us.
That simple conversation has changed things for us around here for the better. His general anxiety level with day to day things has lessened dramatically. Now, when he hears a “voice”, being the logical and analytical kid he is, he will check first to make sure it wasn’t another living person in the house. When he learns it wasn’t a friend or family member, he usually just shrugs and goes about his business. He now tells us these experiences in a very matter-of-fact way.
In the beginning it was my gifted son who was my "Why", but along the way I have collected several others and I continue to work with them in our special club on an ongoing basis.
You can participate in Jamie's Special Online Clubs at:
Her Website - ReluctantMedium.com
Her Facebook Page
Readings by Kathy Crabbe - Soul Reader: For those interested in a mediumship reading to connect with the dearly departed I do offer readings at http://KathyCrabbe.com