February 19, 2012
I woke this morning to an email from my friend, Sarah. Most of you know her as the famous mama at Clover Lane. I love Sarah for a boatload of reasons – her mother wisdom, her intuition, her mad cooking, craft and photography skills (yes, she easily tucks all three under her belt). But I particularly love her down-to-earth attitude and sense of humor. Here’s what her email said,
Hi Cath –
I had a dream about you last night. How weird! You were pregnant and SNOWBOARDING! Going super super fast down a slope that looked like something out of the Extreme Sports Olympic Edition and I had to keep all your little ones on the edge of the slope from wandering into the path of extreme snowboarders going 60 mph – you being one of them! I was having a heart attack watching you and keeping them safe.
What does that mean? Too funny.
Love, Sarah
Little ‘ol me. Tearing up the slope.
What? Not me? You say I don’t have long hair anymore? And you’re pretty sure I can’t pull a move like that? Grab some air like that?
You mean this looks more like me? Nawww….
Okay, yes. I haven’t strapped on a snowboard since college, and even then, the poor boy trying to teach me figured out rather quickly I was a lost cause.
But back to the question from Sarah – about the dream.
First of all, I’m not pregnant. Definitely not. The docs said our boys were the last. No ifs, ands, or buts. And I’m good with that. Although some days I do get a hankering for a newborn. It simply wells up out of some deep recess in my soul.
We did, however, go tubing last week at one of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic venues. Soldier Hollow.
I was the only one in our group who nearly took off her tush because she couldn’t get on the tube fast enough. A tow rope pulls you and your tube (if you’re smart you’ll sit in your tube) to the top of the mountain, then you get a running start on this icy hill and jump onto your already moving tube for a crazy-fast ride to the bottom. I ran and jumped but missed my tube – because I hooked Eliza’s tube to mine and was trying to push hers, while jumping into mine. Can you visualize the problem?
Well, I ended up in a sideways plank, connecting our two tubes with Eliza holding onto my arm for dear life. I was afraid I was going to skin the pants off my behind (or the flesh off my face) – not sure which would go first. Somehow I managed to clamor back into my tube while flying at an insane speed. Then, with some coaching from Doug, I perfected the tummy mount – a much safer way to descend the mountain. I guess you could call me an extreme tuber.
Or maybe it’s the fact that even I have trouble protecting my kids. Today, I let them out into the backyard to “explore.” Dig with sticks, find rocks, fill up buckets with leaves. While putting clothes into the dryer, I looked outside to realize no one was in the back yard anymore. I raced out front and found them in the middle of the street, blazing down the hill at tubing speeds into traffic that was rounding the corner. Of course, the boys were right there with them, pushing their lawnmowers.
I love Sam’s face, tongue and all.
Oh, I know, it all looks benign from the photo. But after an hour of watching them span the length of six houses including a blind corner, having Eliza take off on her own, and standing in the middle of the street (we have no sidewalks – really – who planned that??) to slow down cars and usher children out of the way, I had a huge headache. They were stressing me out! I mean, a mother hen can only take so much.
Hey Gordo, where are you goooooing??
But Sarah, I’d trust you with my five any day.
She’s cute but she is a kamikaze biker!
Or maybe I’m in need of some adventure in my life. It’s tax season and both Doug and I have our noses to the grindstone, with nothing terribly exciting on the horizon. An adrenaline rush sounds rather appealing about now. Something beyond rescuing my kids from certain death in front of our house, pulling boys off the mantel, fishing Mater out of the toilet, or suffering cardiac arrest from finding my kids dropping rocks into the storm drain as a high-schooler races his jeep around the corner going 40.
You know, something like sky-diving (I jest not – it really is on my bucket list), or a trip to Thailand to sit on the beach in Phuket with my brother and his wife who live in Malaysia…
My darling sister-in-law, Shirlee, and her daughter Maya
Or just a jaunt to Nordstrom to buy my favorite lipliner that’s been out of stock for months. I’ve got an itch for some adventure these days, something new – for that feeling of being pin-prickingly alive.
What say you? Soothersayers, interpreters? What does Sarah’s dream mean?
I really am content with my life, but whatever the meaning (or lack thereof), it sure made for a good laugh this morning. Love you Sarah.
knit one, knit two
what a fun dream! are you expecting something extreme? i never have dreams like that – usually i dream that i'm back in school taking a math test after not attending class or studying for months. ;P hope you find something exciting this week!
Lisa
I think parenting all of those little children at once is dangerous enough. I also LOVE Sarah (I'm sure thanks go to you for leading me to her sometime in the past! I didn't know where I 'got' her). 🙂
LizzyP
That is so, so funny. But I never let a dream go by without a little analysis. Let me try.
Pregnancy is symbolic of your potential, or some production that is in progress.
The snowboarding in the Olympics is symbolic of Sarah's esteem for you–you have done some pretty impressive things in the past all at once (for example, raising five chidren under five WHILE writing).
And the fact that Sarah was providing childcare while cheering you on is so Sarah! She's such a cheerleader for moms, and would probably love to get to know everyone's little ones on an individual level. And the safety/heart attack thing is hilarious, too. What I really want to know is if she yelled out to you like she did to her boys on the driveway once "and if you get hurt, you're going to have to pay for the cab to take you to hospital or call an ambulance for yourself." (Have you read that post of hers? It is so stinkin' funny. Are you reading this Sarah–that is my favorite post ever!)
There's my "go" at it. That was fun. We should share dreams and invite interpretation more on our blogs.
catharvy
knit1, knit2 – hmmm… expecting something extreme. Does potty training my boys count? And I am volunteering for the jumpathon at the elementary school. 😉 The most extreme things we see around here are toilet paper and toilet water disasters, remains of scissor projects, and all five jumping on the trampoline at the same time. That's a little scary. I'll be on the lookout.
Lisa – yes, plenty of danger in these here parts. No need to go looking for it on the slopes. So glad you read Sarah. She's a wonderful example of motherhood and priorities. Thanks for your comment.
Liz – You dear thing, I love your stab at dream interpretation. I did read an essay some time ago by Beverly Campbell (excellent writer and gospel student) about dreams. She said far too many people dismiss their dreams without considering the spiritual implications. That God speaks to us in real ways through our dreams. I like your take on Sarah – you're exactly right. Of course, she would be there on the sidelines cheering me (or anyone!) on! And I've got to go back and read that post of hers. It won't be long till I'll be adopting similar verbage. Love you Liz. Here here for more dream interpretations on our blogs. 😉
catharvy
ps – Liz. I'm fascinated by your idea of pregnancy meaning "production" or "potential" – I'll be thinking about that one for a while.
MissMel
Cath, I'm thinking of starting an adventure group. I did my first scuba diving class on Saturday. It was scary, but great! Next I'm going to do the IFly, then I will do the zipline in Park City….nothing too deadly, but gets my blood pumping. Are you in?
tracy@sellabitmum
I think your life is quite an adventure. Interesting as just last week I was 'angry' about doing 'nothing' and going 'nowhere' and so I decide we would book a family vacation to Phuket(where I met my husband) and found a trip for 5 would cost about $25,000. It was then and there that I decided that a trip to Target would be AWESOME and keep me happy for about 10 more years. Or not. lol xo
catharvy
Mel – you are… simply… awesome! Scuba is my biggest, deepest, darkest fear. Doug is certified, so is Deb (did you know that?) but I had some water trauma as a girl and the whole thought gets my BP up. Fast. IFly, however, sounds like a blast and I'm all about the zip line. Will you keep me informed of your escapades? I'd love to join you!!!
Tracy – Dying that you met your husband in Phuket (must have missed that detail in your love/elopement story)! $25K, really? Ugh. Therein lies the draw of staying with family in Malaysia, but alas, I remain with you – in line at Target and Smith's Grocer for now. 😉 xo
pkmilele
I finally had an opportunity to catch up on your blog. I love reading your words. You make motherhood so inviting. It encourages me to do more, to love more, and to feel more of the joy of those sweet, tender moments. They really are going by all too quickly. And as for Sarah's dream, I won't even try to interpret, Liz already did a great job. But I do love the idea of writing down those crazy dreams. Glad she did. Here's to an adventure this week. – B
TheKristencarol
what a great dream. So fun she told you about it. You better get planning a risky adventure. I vote for the trip to Thailand but Nordstrom might be more practical .
catharvy
Bec – I love you. Thanks for making time to read. See you Saturday.
Kristen – guess what? I went to Nordstrom Sat evening and they had my out of stock lipliner! Mission Adventure successful. 😉
Anne Marie
I adore Liz's interpretation of the dream. You are an admired woman, Cath (and for good reason).
I do know a little of that longing for an adventure. I've been hit with wanderlust the last little while. And, I think for right now, I will have to be content with adventures in a book or in my head or in an engaging conversation with a friend.
So glad Nordstrom had your lipliner:)
Love you!
Sarah holman
i think your dream means that we need to take a trip to the beach. maybe a sisters trip, because i REALLY need a beach trip and a few days of laying on your beach chair in the sun might just do that trick.
What d'ya say?
catharvy
Oh Sarah – I think you nailed it. Let's do it. When do we go? May?? I'm ready to book a flight. LET'S GO!!