Thursday, November 4, 2010

A GRANDDAUGHTER'S DREAM

When my uncle passed away last spring, my aunt returned to my mother some old family photographs, one of which was a picture of my late grandmother -Lida Adelaide Ricker. My mother in turn gifted this photo to me. I had never seen a photo of my grandmother as a child or a young adult. This photo is one hundred years old plus, my grandmother was just shy of ninety-two years old when she passed away. When I look at this photo not only do I see a resemblance, but also the person from whom I inherited my dark brown eyes. My grandmother also held a love for animals and kept a flock of chickens when she was a young wife and mother residing on the Island. When my brother and I were young, "Lile" resided in the city of Portland, Kris and I would take turns spending a few days with her and "Papa Ray" during school vacations. One of my fondest memories was a trip to the "five and dime" where we would sit up to the counter -Lile would have coffee and I a milkshake. Later we would browse the "five and dime" where I was allowed to choose a new book of paper dolls, marbles or stamps.
Lile has been gone twelve years now, and a few days after she passed away I had a very vivid dream about her. I can recall what she was wearing, her fragrance and our conversation. When I awoke I could still feel the warmth from her kiss placed upon my cheek. I felt very comforted by this experience. Later that day, I shared my dream with my mother and I learned she too experienced an identical dream. We described identical clothing, jewelery, perfume even lipstick and coat color. My mother too woke with the warmth on her cheek from my grandmother's kiss. I keep my grandmother safe in my heart and I shall treasure her photo always.