Dream Trees

So, “dream trees?” What does that mean? Did someone dream of trees or something? Well, kind of…

Early this morning, I awoke from a very vivid (and in color) dream. As dreams usually go, how I happened to be in the situation has no context. I was just there. It seemed like I was visiting somewhere in Mexico and staying with a local family which consisted of Mom, Dad, and 8 stair-stepped children, 4 boys and 4 girls.

The reason I was there also was unclear. It was hot, and there was no air conditioning in the house. The windows were open and the doors (front and back) also were open with only flimsy wood screen doors making efforts to keep humans in and bugs out. Apparently, it was Christmas holiday time as all the children plus parents were at home. It seemed like everyone was trying to occupy themselves with some kind of low-key activity.

A lot went on in my dream, but the one thing that stayed with me (and inspired me to get busy blogging!) was this: several of the kids wanted me to see their family’s special room – the Christmas Room. They led me down a hallway to the door that opened into a large pine-smelling wood paneled room. It was like a small ballroom with a wood floor and a high ceiling. As I came to the doorway, I saw a small Christmas tree decorated with lights and ornaments just outside the entrance to the room. My curiosity was almost tangible.

We entered the room, and there, along each wall, was Christmas tree after Christmas tree after Christmas tree. Each tree was about 5 or 6 feet tall, and each was decorated with little sparkling lights. Some were lit with all white lights and others with colored or multi-colored strands. Everything twinkled.

I stood speechless and in awe. There were at least a dozen trees, maybe more, and each was decorated beautifully, with no two decorated the same. Each seemed to have its own theme or story.

Suddenly one of the older boys spoke up and said, “This is the room of our ancestors. Each tree tells the story of one of our elders. This is how we honor them and keep them with us.”

“What an amazing idea,” I thought.

I woke up shortly after that and could still see that magical room in my mind. I wanted to go back into my dream and spend more time looking at those trees. But that didn’t happen. There was no going back.

The images, though, have stayed with me, and I have been inspired to try this idea during the next Christmas holiday. In the meantime, however, I want to try imagining what some of my ancestors’ trees might look like. I can already picture a few in my mind.

So, there will be, forthcoming, a series of blogs about a few of my ancestors. As it turns out, I have some colorful characters in my history. Here is a short list of tidbits that will undoubtedly be part of my ancestor tree stories:

Rattle Snakes

Volcano Potatoes

Geronimo

Mustard

Doolittle Raid

Curious yet?

Stay with me and we’ll see how this series turns out. Until next week, sweet dreams!

Just a thought …