I dreamt a dream tonight.
‒ Romeo Montague
Last night I dreamed I needed to call my parents. We hadn’t spent Christmas together as a family in many years. I was thinking that now would be a good time to invite them out for a real Christmas. It would be wonderful to have mom and dad, my bothers, and of course our son to join us in our home in December, 2025.
I imagined that we’d sit around the kiva fireplace singing Christmas carols while enjoying the fragrant scent of burning piñon. Maybe we’d watch A Christmas Story and then sit down to a grand turkey dinner… and blueberry pie à la mode for dessert. Just like the old days.
I awoke at 2:32am with sugar plums in my head, in a state of euphoria. I got up and out of bed to make a note to call mom and dad in the morning. And then it dawned on me: my mother and father, my brother Robert and our son Tait were no longer with us. Only then did I feel a pang of sadness… but just for a few moments.
My mother Marilyn died three years ago, my dad Spike died in 2001, my brother Robert died in 1991 and our son Tait passed away in 1996. But the shock of that sudden realization didn’t seem to bother me in the least. I still felt warm and fuzzy, There were no tears, no melancholy; only that lingering feeling of joy. The dream had awakened something deep inside me.
But why would I dream that Jayebird and I still lived in our home in Santa Fe? Perhaps because we had so many cherished Christmas celebrations there. And it was all about family and friends.
I had dreamed of a future Christmas, longing for the sweet Christmases of the past.
In the kitchen, I made myself some hot chocolate and ventured out onto the deck. Outside there was a chill in the crisp mountain air. In the distance a dog howled, its mournful cries echoing down in the valley, the valley so low. At the main part of the deck, the night sky opened up revealing a half moon casting long shadows. I stood in awe contemplating the vastness of the universe, knowing that in the not-too-distant future I would leave this realm and follow my departed loved ones into the unknown. In the end, nature will have her way.
At that moment I felt at one with the heavens, and that thought somehow comforted me.
Back inside, I sat down and scribbled a few notes for this story. I seem to have a need to share this dream – and my subsequent thoughts. Certainly a lot of people can identify with this strange revelation. At least I hope so.
Sometimes when we dream, the past becomes the present, and the present becomes the future past. Lost in a bewildering, timeless world where your heart cries out in the darkness. And once in a while – in the darkest part of the night – I actually listen to my heart!
I wish every one of you the very best, that you find contentment and lasting peace. Cherish every moment, because life is nothing more than precious moments… like this one.
Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.
‒ James Dean
DC has been a frustrated musician for over fifty years, and now has decided to become a frustrated writer. Learn more at DCDuncan.com. He’ll keep you posted.