Joanne's Dream

My friend, Joanne, rang the doorbell at precisely twelve noon. We are walking buddies but hadn't seen one another since January due to busy lives and inclement weather. After such a stretch we were excited to see one another again. We never lack great conversation, but now we had a backlog to catch up on! She even had a new haircut--instead of the longer style in this photo, her pure white hair sported an elegant tapered pixie bob.

Joanne started talking right away as if she couldn't wait--"I just had a vivid dream about you," she said.

In Joanne's dream, my house was full of friends who loved being there so much that they didn't want to go home. It was so crowded and busy that I built a third-floor turret where I could escape when I wanted to have some quiet reflective time! Meanwhile, downstairs, when I went to the kitchen to bake some pies, it was full of people bustling about, and fixing themselves snacks!

Joanne couldn't know that one of my favourite childhood books was"The Princess and the Goblin" by George MacDonald! In the story, Princess Irene discovers, when exploring her castle, her great-great-grandmother, also named Irene, who lives in a tower. The light from her tower guides people back to safety--I would love to have such a tower.

As we walked all around the village of Bond Head, we speed-talked! The snow melted all around us, running and murmuring in rivulets under the warmth of the March sun. Everywhere signs of life are emerging. Another winter is waning, and we are here to celebrate a new spring.

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