Entering my menopausal years, dreams have a whole new meaning.

Dreams are something I have experienced all of my life.  I have rarely ever gotten through a night without a dream…or a nightmare!  

In the past, dreaming was something I hated experiencing.  My dreams kept me from sleeping well, especially if the dreams involved doing repetitive tasks at work or if I had nightmares. Our daughter Ashley actually bought me a dream diary one year for Christmas.  And, for a while I documented all of my dreams and nightmares.  Reading back over them is like reading the diary of someone psychotic. 

Looking at one particular week of dreams, on the first night I dreamed I was at a Vince Gill concert, and there were children running up and down the aisles.  This annoyed me.  Then a bunch of guys got in a big fistfight and I was trying to break it up.  I couldn’t break it up, so I tried calling the police.  But, I was told the police were asleep and that I would need to call back in the morning.  The next night I dreamed my husband stopped to pick up an outfit I had ordered and he was really upset with me because the cost of the outfit was over $900.00.  The third night I dreamed I was conducting an experiment to see how long it would take a vending machine to dispense drinks in different weather conditions…like I said, the dreams seemed really crazy at times.

The dreams I wrote about in the journal were over 10 years ago.  As I have entered my menopausal years, my dreams can still be bizarre, but the dreams have changed considerably.  Now, my dreams seem to have real meaning.

Most recently, my dreams seem to focus on my father who passed away in December of 2013.    The first dream I had about my father was the very night he died.  I dreamed I woke up in the bedroom where I was sleeping, and he was beside me…just smiling down at me.  He looked much younger, and it was a smile I had not seen in years.  He had been so sick for so many years that a smile…a true smile…was rare.  I woke up and cried for hours. 

Then it seemed I didn’t dream at all for a while.  Then one night, about two months after he died, I had another dream about my dad.  He was in Heaven with another friend from church who had passed away many years ago.  The two of them were working at a table giving out clothes to people who needed them.  Neither of them said a word to me, they simply smiled and kept handing out clothes.  Both looked extremely young and were very dedicated to their work.  I knew as I was dreaming that both of them were gone from this earth, and even while I was dreaming, I wondered what the dream meant? I even questioned if I were really dreaming?  It seemed so real.

Dreams about my dad happen pretty often now, and I look forward to them.  It is like God gives me the opportunity to visit with him.  Dad always looks happy and healthy.  He doesn’t have oxygen tanks attached to him and he always tells me how much he loves me and how proud he is of me.  Those were things he always said to me when he was alive.  He also calls me “Sissy” in my dreams, just as he did before he passed away.  Could these dreams be real?  Is it possible to visit with our loved ones who have passed away? 

Dreams or not, when I wake up, I am so happy.  I usually cry, but the tears are tears of joy.  I miss my dad every day, but I am so thankful to see him in my dreams.

Do you ever dream about loved ones who have passed away?  Do they seem real to you?  Do the dreams offer you peace, or do they trouble you?  Please share your experiences.

May your hot flashes be mild and your wrinkles even milder.
Kim York