Humans can be haunted in many ways: their own fears, an unforgettable bad memory, or a visit from a ghost of the past.  Sometimes a wound is so deep, it has trouble healing because we keep things buried.  The hard part of being haunted is we may not know how to heal it.

I am haunted by a particular memory of my beloved father; I was very close to him.  Dad had dementia, and even through this experience, we remained close.  For all people and caregivers who deal with this beast called dementia, there is no instruction manual, no safe harbor that will provide concise answers and direction to make skilled, knowledgeable decisions.  All you can do is your best.

Dad got along just fine for a long time, until one day, he didn’t.  It all happened so fast.  The day before, we laughed, we ate, we talked and walked and shopped.  It was a good day.  By that midnight, the nurses started calling me.  Dad had declined rapidly — within hours.  A new drug the doctor kept recommending was given to him.  The doctor said it was time for him to take it, now that this decline was happening.  I was worried about all the drugs he was already taking.  Little did I know, this drug would claim his life a few short days later.  I did not know he had a sensitivity to it and feel responsible for what happened.  This is the haunting that I had been carrying.

Last night, I had the most vivid dream.  So vivid, I could see every detail as if I was wide awake and it was really happening.  I was standing inside a fishing boat on a very large, beautiful lake.  Fishing pole in hand, I cast my line and suddenly found myself tangled up in the line.  It looped around my shoulders, arms, neck, hands, and face.  The more I struggled to get free, the more entangled I became.  The line consumed me to the point I could barely move and panic set in.  It was as if I had been wrapped like a mummy with fish line.

Suddenly, my dad appeared right next to me in the boat.  He was wearing his favorite, old, beige windbreaker, blue and white plaid shirt (complete with mechanical pencils and sunglasses case in his pocket), navy ball cap, glasses, and baggy jeans.  He was holding a pair of wire clippers and he gently and slowly raised his hands, as if to tell me to calm down as he started clipping the fish line.

With a few snips, I was free.

Dad gathered the tangled fish line in his hands and threw it behind him, then turned and looked at me.  He said, “Jul, you don’t need that anymore.  Let it go.”  Just like that, he disappeared.

Wow, what a powerful message!  Dad was telling me to let my “haunting” go about the medication and what led to his demise.  He was telling me not to carry it anymore.

Was this apparition really dad who came to comfort me, God himself healing me, or a figment of my imagination?  I prefer to consider one of the first two.  Whomever it was, the experience left me with a great weight lifted.

©2014 The Estate Lady®

Julie Hall, The Estate Lady®, is the foremost national expert on personal property in estates, including liquidating, advising, and appraising. http://www.TheEstateLady.com  She is also the Director of American Society of Estate Liquidators®, the national educational and resource organization for estate liquidation. http://www.aselonline.com.

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent.  Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.