The voice was familiar, but I was having trouble placing it. In past conversations that occurred in my head, the participants were deceased but still chatty. There were talks with my husband, Tommy, and with my parents, Min and Irv.  While all of these episodes were tinged with the sadness of loss, I relished my brain's ability to bring these characters back to life, even if briefly.

I was narrowing in on identifying my imagination's latest speaker: it was a woman's voice, young, and definitely not coming from the afterlife. When she continued talking, I felt as happy as if I were welcoming home a long-lost relative.

"I know that emotion you're feeling," she said. "It was the same one we experienced in other parts of our lives. Think back."

She was my 25-year-old self who had evidently decided to reappear at a critical juncture in my journey.

How odd that a youngster like that felt it necessary to counsel the 76-year-old she had become. But, I was delighted to see her. I took a moment to bring her full force into my vision: her brunette hair, her pretty green eyes covered by dark-framed glasses, her sweetheart-shaped face, and her welcoming smile.

I patted the empty side of my bed, inviting young Elaine to take a comfy place next to me. She slid in and I sighed as I took note of the extra inches of height awarded to the younger me. "What brings you here?" I said.

"Well, I could see you struggling with your decision to leave Chicago for Los Angeles. I watched you tossing each night, and wrestling with second thoughts. It was painful for me to witness that, so I thought it wise to reappear and help you out."

"It's not really second thoughts," I told this cutie pie sharing my bed. "I know I want to be closer to my daughters, and it's important to do it now, when I'm untethered and in good health. But after I enjoyed lunches and dinners with close friends, I felt sad, and wondered how I'd get along without these people in my day-to-day life."

"Yeah, I saw that," she said, "and I felt your sadness. You may not remember, but you've experienced the same emotion several times over the years. It's called 'separation anxiety.'"

"Hmm," I said, "that's interesting. I thought it was the separation from my daughters that was pulling me towards the West Coast. Now you're telling me the same feeling is tugging me back?"

Pages: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4

More Articles

• Women's Congressional Policy Institute; Weekly Legislative Update, July 22, 2024; Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Agriculture, Nutrition Assistance, Child Care, Women-owned Business Programs at the Small Business Administration.
• Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care
• A Square Peg In A Round Hole By Rose Madeline Mula
• Monetary Policy Report Prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Expectations for Future Growth Were Mostly Unchanged
• Encountering the News From the British Library's Breaking the News Exhibition: Unsettling, But Exciting
• Shhhhhh by Ferida Wolff
• Veterans Health Care: Efforts to Hire Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists
• Senate Commerce Subcommittee Set ... Protecting Kids Online: Testimony From a Facebook Whistleblower
• Adrienne G. Cannon Writes: Those Lonely Days
• Rose Madeline Mula Writes: To Drive or Not To Drive — That Is The Question