Creak Of A Dress

I had a dream last night.
A dream that made me wonder if it was a dream at all.
I was reading in the living room and I heard my grandmother singing from the kitchen.
She wasn’t  singing per se.
It was a la-la -la, some ladies of a certain age do when their hands are busy 
But her voice was sweet and the clatter of cutlery on the drainage board ( I haven’t got one) was reassuring .
lids rattled and I imagined she was retrieving a cake from the old cake tin with the green lid and I heard side plates being put out on the table, and the kettle steamed on the gas ring even though I have only an electric hob.
The brown teapot filled with boiling water and I could smell washing powder, cold cream then cake sponge which I knew was made moist by raspberry jam.
The ironing board clinked open 
More la la singing 
And the creak of a dress a shade too small for a waist.

In the dream, I put down the book and walked to the kitchen door 
And of course my kitchen was empty, and neat and very cold

And I woke up feeling rather flat…..
Debby’s words from yesterday caught in my head this morning

“We are surrounded by the ghosts of loved ones gone on, aren't we?”

88 comments:

  1. Somwtimwa I wake and for a minute I can't reason which is real and which is dream - then gradually the dream fades. Sometimes I wish it wouldn't.

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  2. I've been wandering around a unfamiliar house with marble floors and there as cool as a cucumber-(not any explanation of why or how)my dad stood smoking- and I then awoke knowing I had truly visited him in his other life x

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    1. There seems like a common theme here

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  3. I've been waiting for a visit such as yours from my mother, (for two years now.) We made a pact years ago that she would attempt to contact me, "in the spiritual sense", if it was possible. I've discovered feathers and dimes which I've been told are messages from departed loved ones and they always make me smile. A visit such as yours, however, filled with smells and sounds and images would be far more satisfying. It's understandable why you felt a little flat after something so lovely came to an end.

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  4. What a lovely dream.

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  5. 'There are more things in heaven and earth...' I had a very vivid dream about my granddad the other night. It was the first time I'd dreamed about him in about 30 years. It was a real 'Daddy! My Daddy!' moment as I ran to him. I woke up with a feeling of euphoria that lasted most of the next day. No scientist or realist will convince me it wasn't real. Treasure that dream, John. xx

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    1. Perhaps when we are fragile ,our minds brings us people that always made things better

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  6. When I'm quite disalusioned-an unexpected heart in a most unusual form takes me aback giving a positivity - sent from my mum who was spiritual as was her mum(together with the previous owner of my home and her sister) x

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    1. I saw my sisters earlier which was nice

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  7. You had a visit last night :)

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  8. Debby is right but those "ghosts" only exist in our heads. That is my firm belief anyway.

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  9. I truly loved your writing today. Well done, John. Helped me to recall some of my more fascinating dreams after my loved ones have died. It was beautiful. Take care & hugs from the bottom of the mini-mountain in Maine.

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  10. . . . . and I could 'see' it all so clearly from your lovely description of the details John. I often dream of my own grandma whom I spent time with and loved so much as a young girl. I can see her flat, the tiny kitchen, the hearth where we made toast on a brass fork in winter. She was diabetic and sometimes let me have one of her Energen rolls as a treat - I spread that weird excuse for bread with lots of butter!! I see those rolls, often used for weight loss diets, were discontinued in the '70's!

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    1. Toast by the first
      Memories of Sunday afternoons and corned beef legs

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  11. didn't one of those commenters leave one alluding to your grandmother being a cow? that could have sparked good memories about her not being one.

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    1. Jaz, I do wish people would get their facts right.
      It was John who alluded to certain females in his life as being cows. Wow, considering that most his readership is female and, according to one charming of his anon commentators, menopausal, you didn't even pick up on. Yet, there is John, always at the ready to be feel "insulted". What that ANON (let's not assume it was a guy) doesn't appear to compute that most of John's commenters are well PAST their menopause. For all we know they may grow nasal hair and those spikey things on the chin. In reply [to John] I suggested that maybe he should "cut his mother and grandmother some slack". To which I got a rather curt response from him. I myself don't need slack - but I don't need slander either from, say, you. Facts, Jaz, facts.

      Moo,
      U

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    2. Ursula-let us not forget-It is John's party x

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    3. What do you mean, Flis: "It's John's party"? So I should accept that he doesn't employ his inner bouncer (you know, the one who knows right from wrong); let people who have the attention span of a gnat, if that, make false accusations?

      U

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    4. As I understand it-I believe Jaz may have picked up upon John's unconscious remembrance of the fondness he has for his Grandmother x

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    5. Ok let me clarify the discussion
      My grandmother was a wonderful and all loving individual , I adored her totally.
      She did however have a knack of saying things like
      “ oh your hair looks nice , from the back”
      Comments that were endearing and never meant negatively
      My mother , who I loved but didn’t like very much was more negative and a rather sad character who could be incredibly critical
      And I remember her sometimes with less warmth .
      Ursula s discussion and wrong interpretation of my feelings towards my grandmother was irksome but on reflection understandable given her forensic memory (lol) and in some ways I should thank her and others for my reflections yesterday which certainly governed my memories of a dear woman

      I don’t always feel insulted but unfortunately Ursula you do have a a certain skill to be able to irritate me with your unwavering views on my motivations …..I should know better…

      Now this was a sweet post, I’m in a nice mood having booked some trips abroad
      So let’s all be friends xx

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    6. Slander is spoken, libel is written. Fact, Ursula, fact lol

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    7. Odd comment, MrsL, just after John asked "let's all be friends". Never mind. Keep going, MrsL. You seem to enjoy it. Slander/libel - same difference. In the end it's mud slinging regardless by which means.

      U

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    8. No more bad words, I’m not really feeling up to any x

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  12. Sounds like a lovely memory!

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    1. Being in my kitchen she never saw, hurts a little

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  13. It's funny how we dream of our grandmas and mums in that way. That's the way I usually dream about my mum, too.

    XOXO

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  14. Anonymous4:11 pm

    John, Your words are as lovely as a poem.

    Mimi

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  15. What a lovely dream/visitation. No wonder you felt a bit flat afterwards. Our loved ones never really leave us, do they? xx

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    1. They do for long periods then BAM they are back with you

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  16. Haunting. A memory, a fantasy---a visitation.

    It is interesting that scent and taste were so much a part of the experience. Why is your kitchen so cold?

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  17. What a vivid dream/memory!

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    1. The smells were as vivid as anything else

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  18. I dream about my son who died four years ago... sometimes he is a kid... sometimes an adult...the dreams leave me sad and empty...

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  19. Dear John,

    You were close to your Grandma and I suspect she has come to pay a visit to reassure you that everything is okay life goes on as normal. I suspect as a result of your inner anxieties and the fact that you are probably not as sure of things as you would like to be and which you have not voiced to anyone. Come to spread a little love and normality colour, sounds, smells but most of all comfort. What a lovely visit and did it do the job it needed to. If it did that is all that matters. There are lots of things that cannot be explained but that exist enjoy them for what they are. Sometimes for comfort which I would put this in and sometime an early warning system. Lovely all the same.xxx

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    1. Perhaps you are right ……perhaps you are

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    2. John, you asked Sol why you did not meet her in the dream. Tuning into spirit is like tuning into a radio signal, sometimes successful and sometimes not. It also depends on the gifts that person had in real life and also your gifts. My perception is that at the moment you feel everything. You feel energy around you and of people stepping into your own energy field known as the aura. You feel when things are off. You know when people are hiding things or not being straight with you. Inner knowing. It is something that you have always done it is part of you. Just a different form of energy and spirit will communicate how it can. Nothing to worry about some of us are just more perceptive than others. Confirmation of everlasting love xx

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    3. Hugs John, I am made the same way xx

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  20. I was only thinking today how strange it is that some old ladies smell like stale cake when they don't take care of themselves, and then I caught a whiff of it on myself.

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    1. Lol , I always thought you’d smell of old pub and masonry dust

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    2. I did before I lost the testosterone.

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    3. I would have sniffed that out first

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  21. Anonymous5:04 pm

    A gift!

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  22. My family call this a visitation. It means change is coming, they are checking you are alright

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    1. Interesting
      why didn’t I meet her, in the dream I so wanted her to be standing there when I turned the corner

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    2. She didnt have a message this time

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  23. Why don’t you unfriend Ursula?You don’t need her.

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    1. We have had our spats over the years to be fair….

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  24. Barbara Anne5:39 pm

    What a lovely dream or visitation! I often feel "someone" sit on the side of the bed as my parents used to do when one or the other tucked me in at night. When I look, there is no visible reason for what I felt. I have the feeling that those we love who have died are not very far away.
    Hope your plumbing is feeling lots better.

    Hugs!

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  25. That was lovely! So well described it brought a tear.

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    1. It was the creak of the dress that caught me out

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  26. Those ghosts are 'real' as long as they live in the memories of those still here. Whether they are real to others, or real to us alone, it does not diminish that reality.

    Weaver, your last line made my heart hurt.

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    1. Yes, she observed the feeling quite beautifully

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  27. I am glad that the ghost of your grandmother was kind in your dream.

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    1. She would never not be kind , she had the biggest heart of anyone I havevever known

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  28. A very moving dream that I, too, would find difficult to wake up from.

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    1. It was vivid and the smells seems so real

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  29. Oddly enough, I dreamt of my grandmother last night, too.

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  30. Such a lovely visit with your Gran.

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    1. She came to me, I wonder what that signified , if anything

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  31. My Grandma passed in my bedroom when I was 11 years old-One sunny day I was playing in our garden- I glanced up and my grandma was watching me from the window-at the time I knew it was her ghost but never told my mum or anyone-don't know why x

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  32. A deep sleep to produce that intense of a dream

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  33. Our parents died 10days apart in 2005.i was honored to be with both in that moment. Gramma came as a glowing light to carry mom, her daughter on. Dad has visited a few times since leaving. I now care for my disabled sister who is mentally about age 8 or 9. I do my best to point out all the signs that our folks still watch over her so she will always remember she is loved. You see .. she is the younger by 10 years. She will never be alone is she watches for the signs. And for now..we follow rainbows, eat ice cream before dinner and bake lots of cookies.

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  34. That type of dream has such a specific feeling about it and is incredibly vivid. I never know whether it is my memory surfacing with strong emotion and need, or whether I have really opened to another dimension. The grief is strong when we realise they are not with us and reality returns. The happiness and comfort your grandmother gave you as a child must have been very great. How lovely to be near her again even for such a short time.

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  35. How lovely, and beautifully written. I should imagine memories of your beloved grandmother were brought to your subconscious by you having to set facts straight with Ursula the other day.

    Ursula's terrier like nit-picking and fact straightening are getting wearisome ... you have more patience than me. She just needs to lighten up and stop treating your blog as a means of communicating her thoughts to every other commenter.

    I can completely imagined the feeling of being flat as the dream ended with the cold and empty kitchen. But for those moments before, your grandmother was there being the lady you loved and remember so well and filling your kitchen with her daily routines.

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    1. Sue thank you….you speak a lot of sense as always

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  36. Anonymous11:05 am

    A comforting dream, John. After my late husband died, but before his funeral, I dreamed that he was sitting on our lawn in the garden at the side of the house, and he was laughing happily. My mother (who was staying with us) told me of her same dream before I could relate mine, and then two of my neighbours also described having the same dream that night,without knowing my experience. I can still remeber it all these years later. Lizziex

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  37. John, you write beautifully. Thank you for sharing your dream - that was so evocative. It made me think of my much-loved grandmother - many thanks indeed

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  38. Thankyou John.
    I dream of my dearest real friend sometimes..he is still a great help.

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