I never believed visitation dreams were a real thing until I experienced them myself. Rooted in Catholic faith, I never had any interest or belief in things like mediums, tarot cards, palm readers, and psychics, but after some of the dreams I have had, I can’t help but wonder if there may be some meaning, after all. During my entire life, I never had dreams of much substance. I struggled with nightmares as a child, as I’m sure most children do. But those were quickly ended by the comfort I found in the dream catcher my grandma Rosie had given me, which I still have in my room to this day. I don’t remember any of these nightmares, and while the 8-year-old me believed the dream catcher actually worked, it was just the mental comfort and protection I felt I needed. I also had a life-size Barbie doll I kept next to my bed “guarding” me, who I also thought kept the bad dreams away.
During my childhood and adolescent years, my dreams were never particularly vivid or memorable until about two years ago. These dreams started after my grandma Maryann passed away in my home summer of 2013. She and I were extremely close, and had nearly identical personalities. She loved makeup, glitz and glam and shopping, qualities she certainly passed down to me. I definitely do get my expensive taste from her, too. Her death was no surprise, but still very sad for my family and I. She had suffered from rather significant dementia. I remember one evening as I was saying goodnight to her, she told me that the man told her it was time to go soon. I remember asking who this man was, only to have her answer, “the man up there." I kissed her goodnight and walked wide-eyed to my bedroom only to be swallowed by tears. I don’t believe that experience with my grandma was a fluke, I believe that she knew her time was coming.
Soon after her passing, I had my very first visitation dream. In this dream, I was sitting in our family room at home and she was sitting on the chair across the room. In this dream I knew she was dead and frantically began calling my family to see that grandma was here. To my dismay, nobody in my family could see her beside me. Soon, my grandma looked up at me and turned into a white aura of light. This ball of light floated into the doorway of my grandma’s old bedroom and vanished. I woke up. Immediately, I researched what the white aura meant. The color white represents a state of purity, often being related to angelic states. "How fitting," I thought. I was amazingly comforted by this dream and incredibly thankful to have had it as I believed fully in its meaning.
Later I would have another dream with my grandma Maryann. This time she was sick. She was in a hospital bed but we were outside near a pond. She gave me a camera and told me to take a picture of her. When I did, the picture showed the perfectly healthy, happy, smiling grandma I knew. These dreams with my grandma would become more frequent, happening at least once every month.
After the passing of my father, the first visitation dream I had from him would end up being the most profound I have yet to have. My father loved my boyfriend. I truly believe that. After the very first dream I had of my father after he died, I knew this without a doubt. In this dream, I was attending my boyfriend’s college graduation (which at the time was still years away). I remember sitting in the bleachers waiting for my family, only to see my siblings and my mom and dad hand in hand walking towards me. Again, in this dream I knew he was not alive and was thrilled to see him. Yet, I was the only one who could. My mother and siblings looked at me like I was crazy when I said my dad was here. The next thing I knew, my boyfriend was walking across the graduation stage, holding hands with my father. After the ceremony I ran up to my boyfriend crying because he was with my dad. Again, he had no idea what I was talking about.
I have found these experiences to be comforting and I fall asleep every night hoping for another visitation. Their frequency varies, as I have gone nights in a row, or months with nothing.
