ANNIE AND OPAL

I had the sweetest dream this morning right before I awoke. I dreamt that my precious Aunt Estelle was visiting me. She was lying down resting. Laying beside her, mostly covered by a soft blanket that was snuggled close to her, was a floral purse. The purse looked like my own. As she laid there so sweet and content, drifting in and out of sleep, I was busy going to and fro. Their were many of my loved ones there and I was busy entertaining, cooking and gathering things up to put in their proper place.

At some point in my busyness, I spotted that half hidden purse, and thinking it was mine, I gently moved towards her to remove it and put it away where it belonged. As my hand so softly tried to retract the bag, her eyes opened immediately and to my surprise, she too grasped it. Her eyes twinkled as she looked into mine. Our faces were close in proximity as I had come in close to sneak the bag out of her way. Without words we had the most beautiful exchange. I instinctively knew this way her purse and not mine. I was instantly embarrassed about having tried to take it from her as she protected it while sleeping so peacefully. But there was more to the purse than just its floral tapestry and leather that was so familiar. 

Somehow in that moment I knew the purse was full of all the memories that we both shared of her two sisters, Annie and Opal. This was why the purse looked so familiar to me. It was alive with memories of my precious grandmother and my sweet Aunt Opie. I could see the amazement in her eyes, and knew she too was seeing them. We embraced one another, her with her hand still clutched to her bag and mine embracing her and neither of us wanted to move. We were mesmerized as memory after memory poured forth filled with their laughter and giggling. Joy was everywhere. It was the most quaint of moments...as if fairy dust was floating all around us. In this moment, we were more alive than we had been only minutes before. As time stood still, they were more alive to us than they had been in years. There was such a longing to breathe this moment in deeply. Neither of us wanted this encounter to ever end so we dared not move.

I could feel myself trying to awaken from the dream, and as only one can do while dreaming...I wrestled to not awaken, knowing that I would lose this euphoric, yet very real embrace to those I can no longer touch. In the twinkling of an eye I knew I could not hold on to the dream and as I awakened lying in my bed, before ever opening my eyes, I could feel the bright light of morning bursting in, streaming through the sheers covering my window. My room was drenched with morning sun and in my heart, I knew it was going to be a really beautiful day!