The Old Rocking Chair.

By Stella.

This is how I had my first special personal evidence.

I was very new to Spiritualism, and sat in church thinking to myself, can all this be true?

The message in church was about a chair, “Ask your Mother" the medium said. This chair was apparently in her house.

It had belonged to the relative who was there in church talking to the medium. She was a great Aunt of mine. This chair meant something special to her and my mother, she said.

OK I thought, I will ...

It wasn’t that I doubted Spiritualism, all these people seemed genuine enough; I just hadn’t had my personal truth of the family being there for me.

So off I went and asked my Mum.

“What chair?" She said looking very bewildered.

Well, that’s that I thought.

We were sewing some curtains in the dining room at the time and I just carried on hemming, a bit disappointed in it all.

It was an hour later when Mum suddenly looked up and said…"I’ve got it!" ...“It’s my Aunty Alice’s rocking chair and it’s upstairs in the spare bedroom!"

Then the story unfolded…

It was a few years ago in Southport where my own Aunty Nora [mum's sister] and uncle Don lived in a lovely semi, with a garage that had never had a car in it since they lived there. One day my Mum spotted the rocking chair going mouldy in the garage and said to her sister could she have it?

“No!" was the very sisterly reply. “Our Aunty Alice gave ME that chair, not you!"

[So grown up – and what's more they were then in their 'forties' these two sisters !]

Well Uncle Don later in the day said to Mum in a quiet moment “Before you go back home, reverse the car up to the garage and open the boot!" With this he gave a very dramatic wink…

She did this of course … and lo and behold… the fairies whisked the chair into the car and off she went waving merrily…!

That chair was never mentioned again, and we think Aunty Nora must have forgotten about it all, [or maybe she relented and then just pretended to forget?]

We had a good laugh at this and then went up stairs to see it.

There it was, a very old primitive woven seated cottage rocking chair, beautifully balanced to sit in, and we both tried it again, smiling at the memories it had brought back.

But the story’s not over, the years go by, and then my Mum had to move into a smaller place, she gave me the chair saying “I can’t remember why, but I know that chair means something special to you, so take it please."

And yes,  it's there, waiting for the next generation to sit and remember how fond of that old Aunty Alice we all are…

The years go by  …

We are now moving house to Norfolk from West Yorkshire, and because mother is now in a home for the elderly, there is a lot more of her furniture with me.

And so the family were all there, wrapping and packing for the move 'down south'....

The conversation started between our two daughters about what will happen the next time any old body [me, ha ha!] is chucking out the antiques…! Should they wait till she’s not looking? Etc… etc...

I should explain, the are now two rocking chairs, one is there in the lounge, a carved and polished antique, all curved shiny wood and sleekly velvet covered, and the other again upstairs, the sweet old wicker-bottomed one.

One daughter goes for the glamour … there is no way I am letting these two vultures get away with this …

I say “Aha! it depends what you think a rocking chair is used for?"

“What for?" ... “What can a chair be used for, other than sitting in?"

My eyebrows shoot up dramatically, I look amazed that they should not know…

“A rocking chair is for rocking a very special gift!"

Still no 'penny' drops!

“A special gift that needs to be rocked is ... [dramatic pause] ... a baby!"

Stunned silence and looks of shock. They don’t either have a baby yet. “I think whoever gets a baby first should have first dibbs at any rocking chairs, don’t you?"

A lot of thought is going on here….

“But," I continue, “as it happens, there is another one upstairs." The eldest is not so sure about all this; and she can see I have a twinkle in my eye! We all start grinning at each other.

“No, it’s OK," says the younger one, “if you like that one best you can have it."

But she’s not falling for any fast moves like that, oh no!

I repeat. “There has to be rules here," silence waiting, “whoever has the baby first gets which ever one they like best, but not till I’ve showed you the other one."

We all troupe upstairs.

And there it is. Standing in the bedroom corner, ordinary as anything, with daily usage written all over it, humble in simplicity.

Now – what do you think? They both want that one!

We will see… who gets first ‘dibbs’…!

The years go by again we are now 2006

There is a baby on the way! and I and the soon-to-be mum are in the same house living together now, we will both be sitting in that chair with the precious gift at the end of the year....

 not 'the end' yet.....