About two or three weeks after my mother died in 1984, Mark, a Studies of the Future faculty member at University of Houston-Clear Lake where I was working asked me if Mother had come to me in a dream yet. I said that she hadn't. Mark is an interesting person. He has a BS and MS in engineering and an MA and a PhD in sociology. Some of his research interests were in areas that many would call the paranormal. He told me that Mother would come to me soon and to be ready for her. Well, he was right. Within a few days I began having vivid dreams about her.
After Rick died I kept waiting for him to come to me in a dream. It took over two weeks. In the first dream he was lying on the gurney in the emergency room where he died. It was so real. I deliberately woke myself up thinking to myself, "You're not going to go through that again." It was more than a week before I dreamed of him again. That time I was in the midst of another dream when he suddenly appeared in the distance. He was walking from my right to my left through a beautiful green grassy field. He had on his blue plaid long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, but it was tattered all over. I thought to myself, "Oh no! Birds have been pecking at his shirt. He must be going to get it fixed." At that, he turned and waved at me with a big smile on his face as he kept walking through the field.
One of the biggest regrets of my life is that Rick and my daddy never knew each other. Daddy died several months before Rick and I met. They would have liked each other so much. In the next dream, I was at my nephew David's house. We were preparing for a family gathering and I was working around his pool arranging the chairs and tables. I looked up to see an old pickup coming up the long driveway. In the next instant I was in the truck sitting between two men. I looked to my left and Daddy was behind the wheel. I looked to my right and Rick was there. It was as if they communicated to me telepathically telling me that they were together and enjoying each other as much as I thought they would. I began crying and buried my head on Rick's shoulder like I did so many times. He put his arm around me and held me while I sobbed. Then the dream was over. I hadn't dreamed of Daddy in years. When I awoke the next morning, my eyes were swollen. I think I must have cried in my sleep. I am confident that they came to comfort me.
Since then I dream of Rick fairly often. We usually are doing the ordinary things that we did frequently--preparing a meal, working in the yard, playing with the grandchildren, etc. Oh, I have had a couple of quite personal and at the same time funny dreams that shall remain censored. My thirteen-year-old granddaughter, Zoe, reads this blog.
I am a mid-night insomniac and I listen to talk radio when I wake in the night. For the past several years I have listened to Coast-to-Coast AM. Night before last, David Kassler was the guest during the 2:00 to 3:00 a.m. hour. He is a researcher on death and dying and has written two books with the late Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The discussion turned to whether the dead come back to visit their loved ones in dreams. His response was, "Absolutely!" He wrote a book with Kubler-Ross on grieving. I ordered it from Amazon.com the first thing yesterday morning. I am eager to read it.
I have never had a strong interest in symbolism, but I do think the holes in the shirt Rick wore when he was walking through the field are very symbolic. His poor body had been poked and punctured all over for multiple dialysis shunts, main lines, insertion of heart pumps through the groin, and countless IVs. I think the holes in the shirt were symbolic of those wounds and that he was on his way to healing when he was walking through the field. I hope I continue to dream about him. May all of you have sweet dreams, too.
After Rick died I kept waiting for him to come to me in a dream. It took over two weeks. In the first dream he was lying on the gurney in the emergency room where he died. It was so real. I deliberately woke myself up thinking to myself, "You're not going to go through that again." It was more than a week before I dreamed of him again. That time I was in the midst of another dream when he suddenly appeared in the distance. He was walking from my right to my left through a beautiful green grassy field. He had on his blue plaid long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, but it was tattered all over. I thought to myself, "Oh no! Birds have been pecking at his shirt. He must be going to get it fixed." At that, he turned and waved at me with a big smile on his face as he kept walking through the field.
One of the biggest regrets of my life is that Rick and my daddy never knew each other. Daddy died several months before Rick and I met. They would have liked each other so much. In the next dream, I was at my nephew David's house. We were preparing for a family gathering and I was working around his pool arranging the chairs and tables. I looked up to see an old pickup coming up the long driveway. In the next instant I was in the truck sitting between two men. I looked to my left and Daddy was behind the wheel. I looked to my right and Rick was there. It was as if they communicated to me telepathically telling me that they were together and enjoying each other as much as I thought they would. I began crying and buried my head on Rick's shoulder like I did so many times. He put his arm around me and held me while I sobbed. Then the dream was over. I hadn't dreamed of Daddy in years. When I awoke the next morning, my eyes were swollen. I think I must have cried in my sleep. I am confident that they came to comfort me.
Since then I dream of Rick fairly often. We usually are doing the ordinary things that we did frequently--preparing a meal, working in the yard, playing with the grandchildren, etc. Oh, I have had a couple of quite personal and at the same time funny dreams that shall remain censored. My thirteen-year-old granddaughter, Zoe, reads this blog.
I am a mid-night insomniac and I listen to talk radio when I wake in the night. For the past several years I have listened to Coast-to-Coast AM. Night before last, David Kassler was the guest during the 2:00 to 3:00 a.m. hour. He is a researcher on death and dying and has written two books with the late Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The discussion turned to whether the dead come back to visit their loved ones in dreams. His response was, "Absolutely!" He wrote a book with Kubler-Ross on grieving. I ordered it from Amazon.com the first thing yesterday morning. I am eager to read it.
I have never had a strong interest in symbolism, but I do think the holes in the shirt Rick wore when he was walking through the field are very symbolic. His poor body had been poked and punctured all over for multiple dialysis shunts, main lines, insertion of heart pumps through the groin, and countless IVs. I think the holes in the shirt were symbolic of those wounds and that he was on his way to healing when he was walking through the field. I hope I continue to dream about him. May all of you have sweet dreams, too.
What a sweet dream. I believe in dreams because the Bible says, in Acts 2:17b "old men shall dream dreams." I always record the dreams that I remember. When the answer comes I date them. So many have come true and that can be such a comfort. Great blog.+
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