July 18 2006

I had an interesting (and very symbolic) dream last night.

First, right before I went to sleep, I received a phone call letting me know that on Saturday Make-a-Wish is fulfilling a wish for my friends Jim & Lisa's son Jacob (Jim, and his kids Jacob & Kayla, all have thyroid cancer), which is to give him a two-person sailboat. It's top-secret that we're all going to be there, even Jim & Lisa don't know about it.

So here's the dream:

I'm going to visit Donald (my grandfather, who has esophogeal cancer) at his house. He's not there, so I go down to the harbor to the building he's in. It's a small concrete building, one room, with huge windows that show the ocean and a small door on the right (when you are looking out) that leads out to a walkway with metal railing right over the ocean) There are waves breaking right next to the building, we are standing outside by the railing watching them. I see a really big wave building up, and know that it is going to wash over the railing, so I go inside. (I'm with a couple of people, but can't remember who they were) Sure enough, the waves wash over the railing, and we're all knee-deep in water (the door to the building was open). But at least I don't wash back out to sea. The waves keep getting bigger and bigger, and now we're all inside. As the waves grow and grow, and keep washing into the building, we run over and lean against the door and get it closed. Then a monster wave comes up and it's covering the entire building and all we see out the window is water as the wave crests up OVER the building and breaks behind it. The building is entirely submerged in ocean.

Eventually the waves subside and then I am walking down Willow St. with Tena (who called last night) and we are talking about the wish-fulfillment ceremony (which I promised to be at, by 1:15, even though they won't be there until 3) and I was also trying to talk about the big waves, but she's not listening. Just then Jim and Lisa come out of their house (which we had just walked past) where they had been signing all kinds of documents about the boat, and they see us. I cover by saying to Tena that I have an appointment with my dad and need to pick him up at my parents' house in about five minutes and need to go. (and abandon her to explain what *she's* doing in the neighborhood--my parents live two streets over--she lives in Owls Head.)

{grrr...Kira keeps bugging me, and I'm losing the thread of the dream...forgetting big chunks of it, but I have most of the basics, I think}

So the appointment has something to do with Donald, and somehow or other it ends up taking hours and hours and I miss the ceremony, even though I had some important part to it, and was also supposed to bring food, which I *did* manage to send. And someone named Mary called and desperately needed a recipe that I had for a pear dish so that she could make it for the ceremony, and I said I would get it and while I was looking for it our phones got disconnected and I didn't know which Mary it was to call her back. So I grabbed the church directory and was trying to figure out who it was by process of elimination. I had just decided which Mary it must be when my mother came out and was telling me that my sister had just bought a house and I needed to help them with it.

So we went to the house and it was this big old wreck. I was up on the second floor and there was no glass in the windows and I was trying to explain to Lynn that it was a big mistake and the house was falling down around her. So I went out one of the second-floor windows with a rope and broke the window frame and rappelled down the face of the house to the ground [which is interesting becaue I am terrified of heights] and looked up and she had missed the whole thing, so my parents wanted me to do it over. But I had to get back to my old bedroom in my parents' house because there were things, hanging on a big circular walkway that was wrapped around the outside of the room, that I had to find. They were gifts, the largest of which Guelda was trying to say was from her, but I knew that my mother had gotten them all. I had just found the last one (which involved some tricky maneuvering around this major drop-off where the walkway was missing a wide chunk) and now went to call Mary to give her the darn pear recipe and couldn't get through on the phone (which it didn't really matter anyway, since the ceremony was over and I had missed it all).

(I can't quite remember how it ended.)

Anyway. Lots of symbolism in there, huh?

Well, now that I've spent entirely too much time writing this down instead of doing other things (like helping Kira wrap the present for Zeb's pool party which is in an hour and a half, and we still have to go to camp and get her bathing suit and we're still in our pajamas). I've gotta get going. My house also needs a lot of work and I would love to be getting that taken care of instead of going to this darn party, which is being held at *the* most prominent couple in Hope's house (although they won't be there, they are away on vacation and Zeb's mom, who is my parent's doctor's daughter, and from a bit of money herself, is housesitting)....Willow called last night to tell me that they are doing work on the main road that leads to Ann & Rick's house, but it's okay because there is an alternate route, a back driveway to the house. [holy cow, they have TWO driveways to the HOUSE? And this driveway is a mile long] I asked if she had a cell number in case I couldn't find it, and she said no, but that there were housekeepers (housekeeperS!?!?!?!, emphasis on plural) and gave me the number there. Oh, and the bathroom in the poolhouse is out of order. (Willow refered to staying at Rick and Ann's as the "lap of luxury." I guess MAYBE. I knew they were an influential and VERY involved couple in the community, but I had no idea....I am VERY VERY intimidated now.)

OK, I have definitely rambled incoherently long enough. I am going to get dressed, at least. And switch the laundry. And find the darn wrapping paper. And some tape, since Kira has used up the entire roll I just got out last week. (I think a good Christmas present for her this year will be one of those multi-rolls of scotch tape, all for herself)

GONE.