Dream of an Angel

The morning after Lauren's graduation, I had a beautiful dream. I woke up around 6am. I decided to snooze till 7am. I was drowsy and in that between sleep and conscious state.

I drifted off....

Suddenly I was walking on a shell road with Terry and Lauren  Terry and I were walking hand in hand behind Lauren. She walked right out in front of us.  No words were spoken. There was nothing on either side of the road as far as the eye could see. It was just a field of grass on either side. When we got to the end of the long road, we stood back and held hands to watch Lauren.

As I looked around, I noticed all the other parents from Lauren's graduating class. (there were only 8 graduates). All of the other students and their parents were on roads just like us. I could feel their anticipation, just like my own. It was almost like walking our children to the bus stop on their first day of school. We just couldn't wait to see what Lauren was going to do.

We had brought her to this place, and it was her turn to make her own way.

 All of a sudden...Lauren FLEW!  She just flew away into the sky. Terry and I looked at each other and gasped for air. Our mouths were gaped open with amazement. The feelings of awe, and joy, and pride, were tempered with the instant realization that she wasn't coming back.

I remember tears streaming down our smiling faces as we realized that our daughter was an angel. It had almost a numbing effect in that my heart felt pierced, but somehow full of joy at the same time. It was a sensation of feeling agony and exhilaration at the same time.  How can a person experience those two extremes simultaneously?

I was left with an overall feeling of amazement when I awoke.  I felt so happy for my child to have crossed that threshold into heaven, yet so pained and heartbroken at the reality of never physically touching, kissing, hugging, or smelling her ever again.

I always knew her life would take her somewhere I could never imagine. I was so excited to watch her spread her wings and plan her future. I never thought that she would fly to the angels like that. It was so incredible and beautiful to watch. Even though I was sad for me, it made me so happy for her! 

T.Rodney