Travels with Gram

This morning I awoke from a dream that was so real I can still remember nearly every detail. My grandmother and I were traveling; in the dream we were in South Carolina at a very nice resort. Somehow I ended up in another family's room. They were of East Indian descent and welcomed me in for a meal. I stayed for a while but then suddenly realized I didn't know where my grandmother was. I knew our room was on the fourth floor, but I wasn't sure what floor I was on with my hosts. I excused myself and desparately tried to figure out where I was, not that it mattered because all I had to do was get to the fourth floor. Finally I found the way to the fourth floor. I arrived at what I thought was my room. It was very open, with a pool and spa area, and there were beds in rows. I thought, "Well, this is not quite as private as I would like." Someone told me it was the recreation area. A resort employee showed me to my room.

My grandmother wasn't in the room, and I was worried. I looked in all the closets -- the room was very well-appointed -- and although I didn't find her, I did find a nice nightgown and robe. The robe wasn't the kind you normally find in hotel rooms (and I've never seen a nightgown in the closet of any hotel, no matter how fancy); the were very good quality and old-fashioned. I put on the nightgown before I went out to look for my grandmother, but I didn't notice until I was on the city bus (yeah, I don't know why I was on the bus) that it was way too tight. I felt over-exposed and kept pulling it this way and that to cover myself. That was when I woke up (pulling on my bedcovers).

In the dream I didn't find my grandmother, but as I woke up -- in that weird place between sleeping and waking -- I knew that I would. I'm looking at this as a brief visit from my grandmother. She wasn't really much for traveling, but I am, so maybe I had the chance to enjoy two of my favorite things at once. It wasn't truly a getaway, and I didn't really get to see my grandmother, but it was a nice dream and almost as good as the real thing on both counts.