Thursday, August 13, 2009

Time Travel

I started reading The Time Traveler's Wife (also a movie) last night. A couple of chapters in, it tells of his first experience with time travel - he travels back in time to when he is 5 years old & interacts with his five-year-old self. This all happens at bedtime and when the boy returns, he goes to bed and in the morning tells his mom about his "dream".

This reminded me of a reoccurring dream I used to have when I was around 6 or 7 years old....

I used to visit my Grandma Sally as often as I could. But of course, that would require a drive to Pennsylvania (we lived just over the border in Ohio). My grandma lived in a little apartment above a garage owned by her in-laws (my great-grandparents). We used to sit in big squishy chairs on the little screened-in porch (well, they seemed like big chairs, I was pretty little!). It was definitely one of my favorite places to go - I just loved being at my grandma's house.

I can remember always asking to go to grandma's house...and many times my parents would tell me, we can't right now. We'll go soon. Maybe next week. Etc, etc.

One night, as I was lying in bed, I remember being frustrated because I wanted to go visit my grandma...and I wanted to go now! So I got up out of bed and knelt down in the corner to "wish" myself there. I squeezed my eyes tight and I wished really hard. My whole body was tense with anticipation. I really believed I could do it.

When I opened my eyes, I stood up and I was no longer in my bedroom. I turned around and saw grandma's bed and her things. I didn't notice that the room was not familiar to me (I was young and not that observent). I walked around to the foot of the bed. I looked out the bedroom door and could see all the way into the kitchen. I saw my grandma, standing at the sink, washing dishes. I thought to myself, "she's busy, I shouldn't bother her right now."

I walked back to the corner in her room, knelt down and wished myself home. When I opened my eyes, I was back in my own bedroom. I was tired from my travels, so I crawled back in bed & went to sleep.

I had this same dream a couple of times...but never gave it too much thought. It just always made me feel good to know that in my dreams I could visit whenever I wanted.

Flash forward, years later. I was 16 years old and visiting my grandma. It was a cleaning day and I was dusting the top of a tall dresser when I dropped the rag. I leaned down, into a corner to pick up the rag. I noticed there was something behind the dresser so I pulled the item out and went to go tell my grandma about my find. I stood up and backed out of the corner. I walked around to the foot of the bed. I looked out the bedroom door and could see all the way into the kitchen. I saw my grandma, standing at the sink, washing dishes. I thought to myself, "she's busy, I shouldn't bother her right now."

I promptly became dizzy and sat down on the bed. That had to be the biggest déjà vu I'd ever had. I immediately recalled the dream I used to have. I couldn't believe that the dream had come true! While I sat there thinking about it, I looked around the room and realized, grandma didn't live in this house when I had that dream. She'd only moved into this house a few years ago. How on earth could I have dreamed this room, this experience, when she didn't even live here yet?

It's still a mystery to me...but it's a fun story to tell! I would love to have someone that's an expert in dreams explain it to me sometime.

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