They both had the same vision of a young girl waltzing...

By Joan Wester Anderson
May, 2009

"My mother and her mother were as close as could be," says Barbara Martin of St. Louis, Missouri. "It would be safe to say they were soul mates."

Barbara and her mother, Virginia, were also very close, and thus the three women had a special bond. "I spent a lot of time with my grandmother when I was a little girl," Barbara recalls. "I remember her singing me her favorite song, 'The Tennessee Waltz,' as we lay on the living room floor on blankets for sleepovers. She was loving, kind and totally devoted to her family. "

When she was 16, Barbara's beloved grandmother died. She and her mother were both devastated. Virginia was so broken up that it took a long time before she was able to remember her mother with happiness instead of sorrow. Barbara grieved especially hard because her yet-to-be family would never know Grandma as she had.

Years passed. When she was in her fifties, Barbara needed back surgery. "It was a success, and the best part about it was that, while asleep, I saw my grandmother! She was young, wearing a white dress with a red silk sash around her waist, tied in the back with a big bow. She had beautiful curls in her hair and was dancing to 'The Tennessee Waltz.' I was in awe."

When Barbara awoke from the anesthesia, she immediately told a nurse what she had experienced. The nurse smiled—no doubt she had heard many such dreams in the recovery room.

Her mother, now a widow, insisted that Barbara and her husband come to her house to recover from the surgery, at least for a week or so. Barbara's grown children came in and out too, and in all the bustle of activity, Barbara never told her mother about her vision. Just a few weeks later, Virginia's health began to fail. It started with the pain of shingles, and then she developed diabetes. In less than a month after her own surgery, Barbara was now taking care of her mother.

"Hospice set up a hospital bed for Mama in her bedroom, which made her much more comfortable," Barbara says. "She stayed awake most of the nights and was alert and talkative. She knew she was getting ready to go to heaven." Barbara's husband and children took turns watching Virginia.

One night around 3 a.m., Barbara looked in. "Mama had the most angelic look on her face," Barbara says. Virginia was staring at the ceiling, smiling, and her eyes were twinkling. She turned slightly, saw Barbara looking at her, and motioned with both hands for her daughter to come to the bed.

Barbara sat down beside her. "Oh, Barbie!" Virginia said. "I saw Grandma. She was a young girl wearing a white dress, and she had a red silk sash around her waist, tied in a big bow in the back. She had beautiful curls, too. And she was dancing to 'The Tennessee Waltz'!"

Barbara gasped. The very same dream! But her mother wasn't dreaming. She was completely lucid—and joyful. Barbara had never told her mother about her own experience. How could Virginia have known?

Virginia died peacefully just nine days later. Barbara continues to believe that the three of them will meet again, and that they'll spend eternity together. As for now, "I am sure," she says, "that my mother and grandmother are dancing in heaven to 'The Tennessee Waltz.' "