 We take a moment, maybe longer, to think about them and wonder what life would be like if they were still around. But some people experience what they consider to be signs, and they're bigger than just a small reminder of a loved one. Signs appear in front of us and make us believe they were sent directly from someone in the afterlife. And that's exactly what happened to Denise Underhill in the summer of 2017. Underhill's mother, Barrell Turton, died in 2015. Although it had been 18 months since she passed, Underhill still admitted to thinking about her mother all of the time. And on that fateful summer day in 2017, she had a strange urge to pick up the phone and simply talk to her, just like she used to do. Of course, that would be impossible now, and difficult even if her mother were still alive. Turton lived in Tamworth, Staffordshire, a tiny town that sits 130 miles to the northwest of London. Underhill, on the other hand, had packed up and moved to sunny Florida. Life changes with the passing of a loved one. However, even with thousands of miles between Underhill and her mother's old house in a quaint English town, she found herself thinking of the old times while she completed chores around her Florida home. She recounted her day to the Tamworth Herald. As I went about my housework, I somehow instantaneously had the impulse to call my mother but realized that it was completely out of the question, she said. Unable to speak directly to her mom, Underhill got to thinking about what other comforts she could seek. Her mind drifted across the Atlantic again, this time to the house in Tamworth where her mother had lived until she passed away. Underhill wondered how it looked now without her mother living there to maintain the front yard and its garden, something she did on a daily basis. The home had been sold after Turton's passing and her daughter imagined that the new owners had changed some aspects of its exterior. She just had to see this for herself, but buying an airplane ticket and flying over to the UK wouldn't be necessary for her to get her answer. After all, she could see how the home looked immediately. All she had to do was switch on her computer and open her web browser. She knew just where to look for images of her mother's home, Google Earth. It's much more than just a simple map of the world. It offers incredibly detailed images acquired through satellite imagery and aerial photography. But that's not all. Google also sends people around cities and towns to capture the world's streets from ground level. These folk drive cars fitted with mounted cameras that collect panoramic views of every single road they travel. Google Earth users can interact with these 360 degree images in more ways than one. They can zoom in and out to see close-ups of buildings, monuments, and natural landmarks. They can even virtually walk up and down a street and take in something as simple as a row of homes, just as they would in real life. This is exactly what Underhill decided to do on that seemingly normal summer day. She typed in her mother's address on Chater Road in Tamworth. Then, using her computer's mouse, she started moving up and down the block in search of Turton's property. Because many of the homes on the street looked the same, Underhill was keeping her eye out for a specific landmark. This was a silver birch tree that stood in her mother's front yard. There was a chance the new owners had removed the tree, thus lessening her chances of finding her mom's actual abode. But sure enough, there it was. Underhill clicked her mouse to walk even closer to the home, and as she did, she saw a figure in the driveway. She would have recognized that figure anywhere. I got the biggest surprise ever, she told the Tamworth Herald. Right there on her computer screen, at the foot of the driveway was my mother. She was watering the garden, just as she always did. She went on, I was absolutely astounded, it made my day. You never know what photos are being taken, but they really do last a lifetime. All in all, Underhill's mother appears in three photos on Google Earth, casually watering her plants and pants and a blouse. It's particularly lucky that Underhill chose this time to take a peek at her mother's home too. Just as with any other world map, Google Earth requires regular updates, so that it represents roads and landmarks as they are at present. In general, Google Earth tends to update its satellite imagery every one to three years. It had been about two years since Turton passed, so the pictures could have been revised within that time. Then the shot of Underhill's mom watering her garden would have vanished. Happily though, the image was still there, and to Underhill that meant everything. She was able to catch a glimpse of her mother on a day that she especially missed her. And Underhill didn't think that happened by chance either. I think someone wanted me to see this, she said.