My Sixth Sense

I don't know if I would go so far as to call myself psychic but I have always been attuned to my thoughts and of an innate ability to predict some things before they happen. When I was a teenager, this talent presented itself in different forms. I would anticipate such things as songs that would play on the radio or missing the bus or even having friends stand me up. Sometimes these thoughts would come to me mere moments before the event, other times there would be a forewarning of minutes even hours . 

When your daddy and I went to Italy in 2007 we visited your grandad's (my dad's) grave on the lovely island of Sicily. It was the first time I'd been to Italy since my dad's passing and I was quietly apprehensive. The day came to visit him and your dad and I did so with the help of my uncle's late wife. It was a very emotional occasion but also therapeutic. I knew my dad had wanted to return to his homeland to die and it brought me great satisfaction to visit him here. Weeks after the cemetery visit we stayed with my dad's sister in her home in Reggio Emilia. A couple of nights into the say I woke in a cold sweat. I dreamt that your grandad was sitting at the front of a bus with his back to me. Instinct told me it was him and just before I woke from the dream dad turned around and smiled at me. It was such a vivid dream and the first I have ever had that has affected me so much. It was also the first thought I'd had of your grandad in a long time since his death. I knew dad was contacting me in this dream. It was his way of telling me that he was grateful for the time I was spending with his sisters but also his way of reassuring me that everything would be ok. 

I tapped into my 'sixth sense' more recently when I received some news about your great grandfather. I blogged about him a couple of weeks ago and while writing the blog I had a feeling it would not be the last. Following an initial phone call from your uncle Chris to say that he had been rushed to hospital there was a week long wait before we got further news on his condition. During this time I had a bad feeling about things and began to imagine your great grandmother alone and started worrying about what would become of  their house and all their personal belongings. A few days later your great grandfather was diagnosed with acute lung cancer; his fate had been sealed. Even before I knew the gravity of his condition I spent many a sleepless night in deep thought. On the morning of Saturday 21st April, moments before a call confirming that Nonno had just weeks to live, I had a sense that I would need to email a friend and let her know that I would not be able to attend her daughter's birthday. Then the phone rang and the news was confirmed. That same morning I boarded a flight to the Gold Coast.

Sceptics would say that these 'thoughts' could be expected given the circumstances surrounding them and I can't deny that but I also have a sense that there is more to these cautionary feelings than most would give them credit. It's a pity such forewarnings tend toward the negative and do not bring with them promises of lotto wins or other good fortune.

Don't worry, I don't intend to moonlight as a fortune-teller any time soon. ;-)