I wrote this blog a few weeks ago and planned on posting it while I was away on vacation. But, after reading Don's blog yesterday, I thought it would be a perfect follow-up.

Within the past few years, I lost both of my parents within a short period of time. I never knew any of my grandparents as they all died before I was born. My Mom was an only child and my Dad had one brother. As a result, losing my parents was really my first experience with the death of my loved ones.

Since losing my parents, I've paid a bit more attention to people who say that they communicate with the dead (i.e. the Long Island Medium) and people who say they receive signs from the dead. I have a friend who insists that the appearance of ladybugs at odd times, such as the winter, is a sign that her mother is with her at that moment. I'm not sure whether I believe there is an afterlife or believe in signs.

Last summer, however, I was forced to short sale my parents' home in Florida. My Dad was so proud of their home and always said that their home would be mine, my brother's and sister's inheritance. I knew that my Father would be very upset that we would receive no money from the sale. The sale occurred in Florida and neither my brother, my sister nor I attended. At about one o'clock that day a freakish torrential rainfall hit Long Island for a period of thirty minutes, complete with strong lightning, thunder, and horrible winds. I watched the storm from my office window as I ate lunch. Within five minutes of the storm ending, I received a call from the Florida broker, "We finished about five minutes ago. The closing took about thirty minutes."

Do you believe in signs?