"Angel at work!"

My oldest son was a junior in high school and I was working as a Public Health Nurse for the county when this happened back in 1996.

We are blessed to live about a quarter mile from the gordge of the Hudson River. Toward the end of the school year in June more and more teenagers swim under the 60 foot high bridge that joins our two little towns. Just above the bridge are whitewater falls that flow with strong current underneath the bridge. Teens would jump off the bridge and swim in the raging current below. Every year someone would tradgically drown.

I never discussed the topic with my sons, because I thought my feelings about swimming there were very clear. It was that time of year and I had just come home from work and fallen deeply asleep on the couch. I was awakened abruptly by my oldest son who was standing there with his buddy dripping wet.

He is usually very polite and soft spoken so I was alarmed and confused when he started yelling at me. I was waking up and trying to make sense of what he was saying. He was telling me that he couldn't believe I was spying on him and that I backed away when he called out to me.

Having no idea what he was talking about, I told him to slow down and tell me what he was talking about. He spoke in a manner that implyed he was certain I already knew the story. He said he was swimming under the bridge and as he climbed up onto the rocky ledges, he looked up and saw me standing above him. He said I calmly looked down and said, "You shouldn't be swimming here, it's dangerous." He said that as he climbed toward me, knowing he was in big trouble, I kept backing away until I disappeared into the shadows of the bridge.

I assured him that I had not been there and he insisted that I was. He said,"Don't you think I know my own mother when I see her? Same hair,same clothes etc". He was furious that I would not admit that I was there. I was not there.

To this day he swears I was and so does his friend. I am grateful to the angel that appeared on my behalf. I am a registered nurse and have had other angel experiences both at work and with the same son when he was a baby.

Deborah Kirkpatrick
Lake Luzerne, NY