Max Tarlton

It’s been 4 days since my grandmother – Lisa Blair Beaumont (née Ally Josephine “Jo” Lane) – passed away. She took her final breaths on Sunday, June 17, 2018 at the age of 79. It happened just after 4 o’clock in the afternoon, as a quick thunderstorm passed over our home in Omaha, Nebraska. Her brother was saying goodbye before a flight back to Chicago that was understandably missed. But, my grandmother’s entire remaining blood family was there as she drifted into eternal peace. She is no longer in pain, she is no longer struggling, she is no longer scared, and she is no longer fighting.

She battled a number of problems including tremors, mild cognitive impairment, and mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s. The latter two developed possibly because of the alleged and apparent negligence and over-dosing of prescription medications by her caregiver in Alpine, Texas.

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It’s been a bizarre week, but I’m back at work after taking a few, much-needed, days off, but I’m excited to see how my grandmother will communicate with me next.

Over the past few days, there have been signs of my grandmother in ways others may find bizarre or just coincidental.  But to me, it’s her way of talking to me, comforting me, and telling me she’s with me as my guardian angel.

On Monday, the day after the day, my mother and I went to get manis and pedis. It was the stereotypical nail salon with a horde of Vietnamese nail techs. The woman assigned to me went by the American name “Lisa” — something I found quite fascinating and comforting for obvious reasons.

The next day was a bit more indirect. I was watching the sun set from the backyard gazebo. I heard a “ribbit.” I was elated to hear a frog since my mother recently finished the pond in the backyard. I heard the “ribbit” again — but this time it sounded like it was right next to the pond — as if it had moved closer to me. It was the first sign of natural life in the pond so far, so I ran inside and told my mom who had recently tucked herself into bed. She and her husband threw on some bath robes and we all sat on the bench outside on the deck listening to the frog “ribbit” the night away.

Meanwhile,  we googled the symbolism of the frog and here’s what we found.

“The frog as spirit animal or totem reminds us of the transient nature of our lives. As symbol of transition and transformation, this spirit animal supports us in times of change. Strongly associated with the water element, it connects us with the world of emotions and feminine energies, as well as the process of cleansing, whether it’s physical, emotional, or more spiritual or energetic.”

As far as I’m concerned, that frog was Grandma.

The third day following the death of my grandmother, I was walking into the gym when my phone rang. Not so bizarre, but it was some local number I didn’t recognize or have saved in my contacts. Of course, it was one of those robocalls. But this one was a little different before I hung up.

“Hello, my name is Lisa with {so and so}”
*click*
When I hung up, I had a weird feeling like I shouldn’t have hung up so fast. As I check-in to the gym and walk back to the locker room, I’m thinking: ‘Wait, the robot on the phone had a name? Lisa? Do they normally have names? Lisa? Out of all the names to be chosen for the robot, they chose Lisa? What are the chances?!’

I took the call as a sign of communication and motivation. I went in the gym and had one heck of a workout.

The inadvertent communication by my grandmother has been bringing comfort during such a bizarre and sad time. Thank you Grandma. We love you and we miss you.

Rest in Paradise.