I’ve been hearing my name called since I was a kid, sharing a bedroom with Deb and Lisa. We would all be asleep, middle of the night. I would hear a woman’s voice, not my mother’s, call my name from the open bedroom door. “Jody.”

Always the polite child, I woke right up and looked to the doorway.

Bupkis. All air.

I looked over to Lisa and Deb and they were still sound asleep. No voice woke them up. Just me. Little Jody, minding her own business. Sleeping.

For years, the voice startled me awake. My friend Rachel explained that the voice was just telling me that everything was OK. The voice wouldn’t hurt me and didn’t want to scare me. (Well, tell it to come in the middle of broad daylight like any other visitor!)

The voice would come maybe once a year, sometimes more frequently. No rhyme or reason that I knew of.

Once in a great while, it has been a man’s voice. Over time, the woman’s voice has been different women. I have never recognized a voice.

About 10 years ago, I started prepping myself before bed to hear the voice. I invite the voices to come to me and to please give me more than just my name. We’ve established who I am and who they are communicating with; now I’m ready for more information.

Who are these people? What do they want? What can I learn from them? So I’ve been asking for more.

Just two nights ago, I was in twilight. You know, that space between awake and asleep? I heard a woman’s voice. It wasn’t as far away as the bedroom door, maybe closer. It was a nice voice, just saying my name. I came out of twilight and thanked her for coming to me and asked for more.

I started back to sleep, again in twilight. I got my second word.

“Rich.”

I popped up in my bed, laughing out loud, “I know my last name! It’s taken 60 years to get a second word, and it’s my last name? C’mon, now.”

But here’s the thing, not that this wasn’t enough. The voice was a man’s voice. It wasn’t clear and calm like all the voices before. This voice sounded either gravelly or struggling somehow.

What does that mean? I’m open to any and all explanations.

Do the spirits simply want me to be very sure of my own name?

I invite them to appear in any form they desire, as long as I can recognize that it is one of them. I’m greedy and want a visual here. I want a complete message.

“Hello and welcome. All lines are open.”

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