sharks.
This morning I kept repeating the dreams to myself so I wouldn't forget them: sharks and wedding, sharks and wedding, sharks and wedding...
I wanted to remember the dreams so I could ask a friend at school what they meant. She is an amateur dream interpreter, a businesswoman, teacher, mother, and wife. I trust her opinion.
It was a restless night, and I never slept for more than an hour at a time. Each time I fell back asleep, I re-entered the dream I'd been having, one of two vivid dreams that I'd never had before.
My friend thinks the messages are clear. The first dream is our upcoming move. We are leaving Boston (the boathouse) for Nashville (the new house) and we are under attack by stress and fear (sharks). There is so much to pack, so many miles to drive, and so much water to drain before we can settle in (dock, running, splashing waves). This works for me - I think she is right. And water has been on my mind recently due to a series of events that happened last week, in the following order:
1. I told my fiance that I was going to miss the Charles River, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Belle Isle Inlet behind my house. Don't get me wrong, I assured him, I can't wait for Nashville - but I am afraid of leaving so much water. He reminded me that Nashville has the Cumberland River, and that we'd be ok.
2. A pipe bursts and all water in Boston is contaminated. A "boil water" order is in effect, and the governor declares a state of emergency. No water is good for consumption or cleaning, and we scramble to buy bottled water for several days.
3. The Cumberland River floods, and Nashville is under water.
I know that I couldn't have caused this natural disaster, but I do feel that Water was trying to make a point. "Ok, east coast girl. You think Boston water is so great? How about some contamination? You think there's no water in Nashville? How about a flood?"
I'm humbled, and feel a little guilty, even though I shouldn't, so it's no surprise that my mind took me to a boathouse with sharks. I'm just grateful we made it across together.
As to the second dream, my friend smiles. The message is that everything is going to be ok! Many women dream of their weddings with one catastrophic aspect - they are wearing the wrong dress, someone is crying, the groom doesn't show up, everyone is naked, etc. The worst that happened in my dream was my chipped nail polish and my father's casual wear, so I am not only at peace about all the wedding plans, but I am at peace knowing that even with some minor glitches the wedding will still go on.
This must be the case. I'm fortunate to be marrying someone who gets it, to be from a family who gets it, and to have married sisters and friends who get it. And it = the point is to say, "I do." That will happen no matter the color the table linens, no matter the texture of the ribbon on the bouquets, no matter the shade of the groomsmen's suits. Even if every minor detail is askew, we will both be there, and we will walk away married.
This reassurance keeps us sane, keeps us laughing through the planning, the phone calls, the emails, the deposits, and the contracts. We know that in the Great Story of the world, this is a day like any other, a day where babies are born, children go to school, people get sick, and natural disasters happen, and this awareness keeps us humble. It is a day that is important, but not the most important. It is a day that we will remember, but we will get further and further away from it the longer we are married. What really matters is the day the sharks bite, the day he loses his job, the day my daughter won't talk to me, the day someone has to be rushed to the hospital. What matters is that we can keep our cool, hold on tight, and run down the dock as fast as we can. What matters is that we make it across, and that we make it together.
I wanted to remember the dreams so I could ask a friend at school what they meant. She is an amateur dream interpreter, a businesswoman, teacher, mother, and wife. I trust her opinion.
It was a restless night, and I never slept for more than an hour at a time. Each time I fell back asleep, I re-entered the dream I'd been having, one of two vivid dreams that I'd never had before.
Dream 1:
We are in a boathouse at the end of a dock leading back to a house. The boathouse and dock are surrounded by choppy water rising up in angry waves around us and splashing the dock. We hold hands and run from the boathouse to the new house, but as we run along the dock we are attacked by sharks. The sharks are everywhere, and there seem to be millions of them - they jump up and snap at us, they land on the dock and thrash their bodies, they bite the dock near our feet. We make it to the new house, but are shaking, both from fright and from cold as we are now completely drenched.
Dream 2:
It is our wedding day. Everything is just as it should be. I am wearing the gown I bought, my best friend and her husband are officiating the ceremony and playing/singing the music, and my parents' best friends are seated near the front. My sisters are standing as bridesmaids, and I reveal to my little sister that I am wearing a pair of sandals from Target and my nail polish is old and chipped. Neither of us can believe I made it past my mother in this condition. The ceremony is fine, and I remark to my fiance that I can't believe we're there - it seemed like only yesterday that we still had five months to go. Only two parts of the wedding are bizarre: my father is wearing jeans and a t-shirt; my fiance and I leave mid-ceremony to take communion with my best friend and her husband at a picnic table, where instead of crackers and wine we use pieces of pre-packaged sandwiches and jelly.
It is our wedding day. Everything is just as it should be. I am wearing the gown I bought, my best friend and her husband are officiating the ceremony and playing/singing the music, and my parents' best friends are seated near the front. My sisters are standing as bridesmaids, and I reveal to my little sister that I am wearing a pair of sandals from Target and my nail polish is old and chipped. Neither of us can believe I made it past my mother in this condition. The ceremony is fine, and I remark to my fiance that I can't believe we're there - it seemed like only yesterday that we still had five months to go. Only two parts of the wedding are bizarre: my father is wearing jeans and a t-shirt; my fiance and I leave mid-ceremony to take communion with my best friend and her husband at a picnic table, where instead of crackers and wine we use pieces of pre-packaged sandwiches and jelly.
My friend thinks the messages are clear. The first dream is our upcoming move. We are leaving Boston (the boathouse) for Nashville (the new house) and we are under attack by stress and fear (sharks). There is so much to pack, so many miles to drive, and so much water to drain before we can settle in (dock, running, splashing waves). This works for me - I think she is right. And water has been on my mind recently due to a series of events that happened last week, in the following order:
1. I told my fiance that I was going to miss the Charles River, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Belle Isle Inlet behind my house. Don't get me wrong, I assured him, I can't wait for Nashville - but I am afraid of leaving so much water. He reminded me that Nashville has the Cumberland River, and that we'd be ok.
2. A pipe bursts and all water in Boston is contaminated. A "boil water" order is in effect, and the governor declares a state of emergency. No water is good for consumption or cleaning, and we scramble to buy bottled water for several days.
3. The Cumberland River floods, and Nashville is under water.
I know that I couldn't have caused this natural disaster, but I do feel that Water was trying to make a point. "Ok, east coast girl. You think Boston water is so great? How about some contamination? You think there's no water in Nashville? How about a flood?"
I'm humbled, and feel a little guilty, even though I shouldn't, so it's no surprise that my mind took me to a boathouse with sharks. I'm just grateful we made it across together.
As to the second dream, my friend smiles. The message is that everything is going to be ok! Many women dream of their weddings with one catastrophic aspect - they are wearing the wrong dress, someone is crying, the groom doesn't show up, everyone is naked, etc. The worst that happened in my dream was my chipped nail polish and my father's casual wear, so I am not only at peace about all the wedding plans, but I am at peace knowing that even with some minor glitches the wedding will still go on.
This must be the case. I'm fortunate to be marrying someone who gets it, to be from a family who gets it, and to have married sisters and friends who get it. And it = the point is to say, "I do." That will happen no matter the color the table linens, no matter the texture of the ribbon on the bouquets, no matter the shade of the groomsmen's suits. Even if every minor detail is askew, we will both be there, and we will walk away married.
This reassurance keeps us sane, keeps us laughing through the planning, the phone calls, the emails, the deposits, and the contracts. We know that in the Great Story of the world, this is a day like any other, a day where babies are born, children go to school, people get sick, and natural disasters happen, and this awareness keeps us humble. It is a day that is important, but not the most important. It is a day that we will remember, but we will get further and further away from it the longer we are married. What really matters is the day the sharks bite, the day he loses his job, the day my daughter won't talk to me, the day someone has to be rushed to the hospital. What matters is that we can keep our cool, hold on tight, and run down the dock as fast as we can. What matters is that we make it across, and that we make it together.