Wake-up Dream

Five years ago today the following events took place. I can't prove that it happened, but I don't write fiction on this blog. I have no explanation for what happened, but here it is:

Similar to the photo above, it was in the early morning, when the light of a new day was breaking over the horizon. If you're lucky, like me, you wake up without the jarring insistence of an alarm clock, and you are sometimes aware of the world between sleep and full awake-ness.

Well, I think I was in that state when this experience happened. It could be called a dream, but it seemed of a different quality. I suddenly found myself walking arm in arm with an older woman. I couldn't see her face, but she had gray curly hair, and was wearing a red print dress and a necklace of odd-shaped red and black beads. We were struggling to make our way up a steep, slippery incline, at the top of which was an open doorway. Two or three times we almost made it to the top, but then slipped back down. Finally, we were able to reach the doorway, and I got a brief glimpse of the view beyond. It was a beautiful, glowing green meadow of flowers, grass, and trees. It looked pleasant, warm, and inviting. My glimpse was very brief, for as we reached the top, the inclined walkway we were on began to pitch forward like a teeter-totter would, and as we fell, I woke up.

Honestly, I had never had a dream anything like this one before. I usually didn't have much dream recall; they vanished upon my awakening. So I pondered this one all that morning, wondering what in the world it meant, if anything.

In the afternoon, we received a phone call from Husband's uncle. He informed us that his mother, Husband's grandmother, had died earlier in the day, alone in her home, about 20 miles from us. Although she was elderly, she hadn't been ill, so her death was unexpected.

Wow, I was completely stunned! I started to tell my family about the dream, but they looked at me like I was insane, so I shut my mouth.

As I listened to the details of Grandma's death, it seemed that it had occurred around the time of my dream or whatever it was.

I don't know what it was. Maybe it was her spirit telling me good-bye, or perhaps as she was dying, Grandma thought of her loved ones, and somehow her thoughts travelled and I was in a mindstate to receive them. Grandma and I had been pretty good friends. We had enjoyed many long talks, and had a bond.......she would call me every few weeks to come and trim her toenails, since she couldn't reach her feet anymore. She'd be there sitting in a chair, waiting for me with her feet soaking in a pan of warm water.

Some people view these kinds of stories with suspicion, and some people don't. If you don't care for this sort of thing, then surf away. This dream was like a wake-up call to me in a way......I almost divide my life into B.D. and A.D., "before the dream" and "after the dream". Since it happened, I pay attention to dreams, and keep a journal of them. Sometimes, they teach you about yourself, and occasionally, they teach you about someone else.

Probably there are lots of people out there who have had a similar experience. I wish that anyone who did could feel free to discuss such things. Sometimes, in our culture, it is difficult.