Grandma Visited Me In A Dream

I'm somewhere with all of my family and some childhood friends. Someplace warm and happy and upbeat, like on a vacation somewhere. Out of no where, Grandma appears, and she's standing next to me. She is bright and joyous and the Grandma I remember from when I was ten- overweight, full of life, and healthy. She is standing there, and no one notices her but me. She pulls me next to her and gives me a side-hug, and I am suprised that she is warm and squishy, like Grandma used to be. I begin to cry. No one notices.

Then, someone has the idea to go to the cottage, like it is right down the road from this vacationy place. So somehow we all fit in one car and a split second later, we arrive at my Grandma's cottage. There is the usual hustle and bustle of getting situated- someone volunteers to go to the store, someone else goes out to the dock, I begin to get sleeping quarters arranged. Suddenly I am outside, in front of the cottage, looking out at the lake, and when I turn around, Grandma is there again. No one but me sees her. And she is bright and happy and smiling. She looks at me, and I know its her. And she's full of life and happy, wearing her aqua cotton shirt and black polyester pants, her hair done up just so, and her lipstick flawless. And I'm the only one who can see her.

Grandma is ok.

I'm not one to dwell on the the comings and goings of life and loved ones. It's a part of life. I am not super religious, but I believe in God or some other more powerful force than ourselves in this world. I'm not sure I believe in Heaven or Hell, but it is nice to think that there is something more than the brief time we spend in these bodies. It's nice to think there is a place that is a sort of permanant vacation when our bodies expire and we are no more. And I do believe that Grandma's spirit visited me in a dream last night.

I have had "real" feeling dreams before, and when I wake up, it takes a second to realize that I'm in bed, it was a dream, and I'm now awake. But last night was different. In my dream, I knew I was dreaming. Everything BUT Grandma was dreamlike. But when Grandma hugged me, she was warm and as real as you and I, and I began to cry. When I woke up this morning, I knew I had been dreaming, had no doubt that it had all been a dream, but at the same time, I knew it was unlike any dream I have ever had. Because one part of it WAS real. Grandma. And when I woke up, I was crying. Not sad, not happy, but real tears. Every part of the dream is now fuzzy and fading as dreams do, but Grandma is not. I truly believe it was her, reaching out, in some way.

There are all sorts of religious beliefs out there, and many beliefs do not encompass the fact that one belief may not cover all the mysteries in this world. Many beliefs do not even allow you to question that there may be flaws in the religious system. I was lucky enough to be raised in a Christian church by a very modern and open-minded pastor who allowed us to question and doubt and contemplate and reason. He used to say "the Bible is more of a reference book- God gave you a mind to reason and think about things on your own as well." I think that this world is big enough to encompass all ideas about life, as no one person or entity has the answer, and more than likely, never will. Maybe that open mindedness allowed my Grandma to visit. She knew that my mind would allow her in, remember her, and accept her. Maybe. Whatever the reason, I am blessed by that dream last night. And I know my Gram is out there somewhere, smiling and happy again.