(Originally published November 9, 2013)

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I heard from Grandma last night! I was with friends at the Gregory Alan Isakov concert downtown (he was playing with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra) and right before the show I turned my phone off. To give you some context, my phone has a history of NOT turning itself off (I can’t tell you how many flights I’ve been on during which my phone was “powering down” from takeoff to landing). To ensure that my phone was completely off, I even went to the effort of sliding off the back panel and removing and replacing the battery.

Sometime during the first half of the concert I became aware of a vibration in my pocket and then…I HEARD it ringing!! OMG!! I reached into my pocket and quickly silenced it, confused as hell about how it could have possib…ly … rung … “Grandma!!”

My friend Amy was witness to this because she was sitting on the phone-ringing side of me (Michelle, on my left, was unaware of any of this). Amy was fairly mortified for me and commented that perhaps my ringing phone would make it onto Gregory’s album (he was recording this concert to release as a live album). I whispered that I had FOR SURE turned my phone off!

I asked for it. And Grandma, probably with a little help from a scheming Grandpa, delivered the sign I’d been asking for. Not convinced it was her? What if I tell you that my phone showed no missed call?!

And then, at intermission, I realized that my brother and his wife were sitting IN THE ROW BEHIND US. What are the odds of that? Seriously. I love this shit.

I have no doubt it was Grandma. And I’m sure this is when it’s pretty fun to have an eccentric granddaughter who believes crazy-ass shit. I took a moment to tell her in my head, “Hi, Grandma! Thanks for the sign! I love you!” and then I went back to enjoying the concert.

And when thinking about it today while lounging too long in bed, a song popped into my head: “I just called to say I love you” by Stevie Wonder. Perfectly fitting for the occasion, I’d say. Clearly Grandma is just as potent on the other side as she was on this side.