Have you ever had a dream that you’re sure meant something?
Not like, the normal kind of dream you have. (For example, this past week I dreamt I was fleeing from a Mexican drug cartel, run by the bad guy in “No Country For Old Men” (a movie I’ve never even seen.) I had to paddle through a pond in a tiny canoe. Sadly, they caught up to me. I woke up right before they killed me.)
You know, normal dreams like that.
Have you ever had a real, legit dream that you can’t quite explain?
There was once, not long after I met my husband, I had a dream like that. In fact it was about this time last year. (Has it really been that long? Time flies.)
I dreamt I was at a train station, and with my ex-fiance. He was mad at me (as he was) and making me feel crummy (as he did). (Side note: I still wonder why I even stayed in that relationship lol. Its funny but even ages after that relationship, that dream brought back all those familiar horrible feelings.)
Anyway. While he was treating me this way, I caught a glimpse of The Handsome, who had appeared on the platform in the distance, and was walking towards me.
He walked past my ex (who…just moved out of the picture, faded away) and to me.
Then hr pulled me into his strong arms and gave me the biggest, tightest hug.
It was the best feeling in the world. I woke up with that feeling, and I can still feel it now.
I think that dream meant something for sure.
This blog isn’t about that dream. This blog is about a dream that I can’t think about without tearing up. Not long ago, and the subject of dreams came up at work. Us coworkers talked about the zany dreams we’ve had, and the scary ones, but my one coworker, Eric, shared one that I won’t ever forget.
Eric had a great family with a sweet wife and kids.
But Eric’s wife, Karen, (I’m changing her name, of course) had gotten an injury an as a result, ended up addicted to pain medication.
She’d been in rehab once and it had kicked the habit for a few months, but unfortunately, she had relapsed.
It was a really hard time for their family.
She needed to go back to rehab. But Karen hated that idea; it was Christmas season, and rehab was a really, really lonely and tough place, and she would be away from her family for the holidays. She refused to go.
To make matters worse, Karen’s mom had died just before Thanksgiving.
It was a really tough time.
One night, Eric had a dream.
He dreamt he was at a big holiday gathering with all his family. You know, where everyone wears Christmas sweaters and they decorate the walls with tinsel and bring those tins full of shortbread cookies.
There was a buffet table, and Eric was surprised to see his mother-in-law–the one who had just passed away–getting food at the table. They began to chat it up.
Out of the blue, his mother-in-law said:
And his mother-in-law said:
Immediately, Eric woke up.
He felt a little shaken about how vivid the dream was, and how he remembered everything about it. He contemplated waking his wife up and telling her about it, but decided to let her sleep.
It wasn’t long before he’d fallen asleep again
And had that exact same dream.
The family gathering. Talking to his mother-in-law at the buffet.
Their exact same conversation, word-for-word.
And had that exact same dream a third time.
When Eric woke up this time, he decided to tell his wife about it.
But to his surprise, his wife was already awake.
She turned to him and said:
She went back to rehab. It was tough on everyone to have her gone.
But this time, she kicked the addiction for good.
Maybe second time’s the charm?
Maybe she just needed the second round to convince her she never wanted to go back.
Or maybe…maybe it was because she actually wasn’t alone there. Maybe the extra help was really what she had needed.
It’s nice to know that there are people on the other side who are watching out for us.
Merry Christmas, everyone :)
Christmas Dream was originally published on Story Monster
