My Sister Dream

(Top) Melissa & Avery, 2003(?), Cedar Point; (below) Alex, Lake Shannon, 2004 (both by Karen Branson)

This is a dream I had last week. I didn't bother to write it down, because it was so real that I didn't think I'd forget. Now it all seems like a dream...

My Sister Melissa was here for a visit with her two kids. (I guess Hubby Dan must have stayed home to take care of the horses -- someone had to.)

Missy hasn't been in North Carolina since my mom was in the hospital eight years ago. Before she had Alex, who's now 17(!) and Avery, she used to visit every year or so. I guess having two kids with autism and/or spectrum-related issues salted her wings a bit, making North Carolina visits with my baby sister a rare treat. (Oh -- And I don't think the fact that her airplane almost crash-landed in a huge windstorm on her return flight that last time did anything to help my cause, either!)

Anyway, I dreamed that Missy was here -- Here! -- for a visit. In the dream, we were sitting at the kitchen table, and she was telling me about jumping from bed to bed in the hotel room with Alex and Aveary, laughing like idiots -- Missy and I, I mean, as she told the story.

If you've read my other posts about dreams, you know that I like to try to figure out where they came from..

As I mentioned in my recent post about Alex, Melissa and her family have been very much on my mind lately. I was probably thinking about them as I fell asleep. I just love them all so much, and I don't get to see them nearly as often as I'd like. It would have been natural for me to have concocted a story about them coming here for a visit, instead of my having to wait until our annual trip to Michigan to see them. That part was easy. The part that gave me a little trouble is Missy and the kids jumping on the beds! (While it was fun to picture, it's just not quite in character for any of them.) Then I remembered my Brother Mark telling me about something he and My Other Brother Jason had done a long time ago, back when they were much younger and not entirely wise...

I can remember laughing until I hurt as Mark talked about how, when the two of them worked together building sunrooms and had to travel quite a bit, they would entertain themselves in their motel rooms by doing stupid stunts, using the beds -- and other furniture -- as props. (Really, it's a wonder that I still have two brothers!) Isn't that called transference-- having Missy and kids doing things that had actually been done by Mark and Jason? Whatever -- I love Missy and her kids, I love Mark and Jason -- Heck, I even love jumping on beds! I guess I just mixed it all up in one crazy dream.

It seems like I was awake for a while before I remembered that Missy won't be visiting North Carolina any time soon. (Sigh.) It sure was a good dream while it lasted, though!

Oh -- I guess if you ever want to make me laugh, you just have to tell me a good jumping-on-the-bed story!