Last night I had a very pleasant experience spending time with my father. Which is odd, because my father passed away some years ago.
Of course it was a dream. I suspect that many of you who have lost someone have had a similar experience.
What makes this particular experience somewhat unusual is that at one point my father turned to me and said “We need to plan for my retirement.” The moment he said that, I looked at him, looking all fit and full of life, and remembered that he was, in fact, no longer alive.
Which of course clued me in that this was a dream.
My next thought was that this was my dad’s way of telling me that this was a dream, so that I would realize what was going on. And I’m glad that he did, because otherwise I probably would have forgotten the entire experience by the time I woke up.
But because he said that, I thought to myself — all while still being asleep and in the middle of this dream day with my dad — that I will need to remember this when I am awake.
And sure enough, when I woke up this morning, the entire virtual time with my dad, so alive and as delightful to be with as ever, was vivid in my memory.
Which is a good thing, because memories of time with my dad, even in a dream, are more precious to me than diamonds.