JULY 17
Even when the dead have ebbed in memory from our waking
hours, they may return to us in dreams. These reunions, often
startlingly vivid in their imagery, are sometimes comforting.
—MARY JANE MOFFAT
Sometimes we wish for dreams of our loved one, as a way
of keeping in touch. Sometimes they may be frightening.
But probably they are to be trusted.
Soon after my daughter died from a head injury incurred
in a fall, I dreamed of standing on the upper deck of a ship
and watching two orderlies carry a stretcher up the stairway
toward me. On the stretcher was a young woman. She was
unconscious, her head bent to one side. The two men
brought her close to where I stood waiting. They assured
me she was going to be fine, and pointed out that down-
stairs, on a lower deck, was a picnic table, with people
gathered around. I looked. The people were the rest of my
family and they were looking up, waiting for me to come
and join them, which I did.
The mood of the dream was quite matter-of-fact, quite
serene. I was startled, in thinking of it, at how specific it
was—its message clear: she is all right. Return to the living,
who need you.
My dreams are a means of understanding and growth.