Yesterday (December 30)
The dream took me into the woods. There was a the feeling that my wife's Step-Father was involved... His nickname "Papi" was mentioned or implied during the dream. He loved the woods, and with my Mother-In-Law had often camped in a trailer on weekends, eventually buying a home near Dingmans Ferry, PA to spend time all year-round. The house was sold when they divorced.
In the dream I am walking in the woods, trying to get back to the house - heavy rain has washed away the makeshift crossing over a stream. The boards lay in the mud just on the muddy bank - this would have to be fixed later when the weather was much calmer. Continuing on the trail to the house, my feet slipped and slogged through mud; my pace slowed, I looked down noticing how deep my shoes were making depressions - the ground was so saturated that each step pooled up with water. Night was falling quickly, so I had to get back to the house, not more than a hundred yards away.
Inside (skipping a sequence?) I was met by the carpenter or workman, some repairs or renovation was going on inside, down in the basement. Piles of lumber were stacked near the side wall, a video game machine was on, I think maybe Galaga or Centipede - the dream couldn't decide. We were amazed by the relic of 80's nostalgia sitting there in pristine working condition. The carpenter decides to play for a few minutes while I watched. The workman gives up after a few minutes, not warmed up enough to play the higher levels - he then gives me orders to pick move the lumber in the corner because it was my house. I responded "You were hired to do the job, I'm not going to do this alone, you need to help or there's no deal." Caught off guard by my resistance, he knew I was right and we began working together, moving each beam closer where we needed them.
The dream had shifted, the video game reminded me that I could track my kids on my phone app, I saw my two youngest driving in Staten Island. After watching this for a few minutes, trying to figure out why they were anywhere near NYC - the dream faded out.
Today (December 31)
I was going through a bunch of things, searching for mementos from the past. The presence in the room felt like my father, and the location may have been my childhood apartment, where I lived close to seventeen years. Inside a clear envelope was some money, folded in half and in small bundles of around ten bills each. I was excited for the find "Look, money I had saved!" "This is like a gift from the 80's!" I pulled at least five small bundles of cash, throwing each onto my childhood bed, my father's expression was surprise that I had found money. Then I found a single, silver coin at the bottom of the envelope, not being able to recognize the head on the front I dropped it on the table to confirm the telltale deadened sound of Silver. Something was mentioned about what denomination it was - Dollar or Quarter....
The dream jumps. I am making a bed on a triangular street island, where people walked past, busily going about their day. Sleeping on the street wouldn't be easy. My goal was to stuff padding into a pillow-like mattress and lay it on top of an air mattress. When I finished setting up the bed, I lay down and pulled the covers up to my neck. It was a bright sunny day and people began to take pity on me as they passed. Some threw loose change on my bed, a man stuck some dollars under the cover near my foot. I was surprised by the generosity, my intention of sleeping outside wasn't meant to evoke the need for charity. Two young men were arguing as they passed me, the issue was needing money - one of them looked down at my growing pile of funds, for a second his expression changed, I took it as a sign he was going to rob me.
I sat up in my bed and began to pick up the money, even though I didn't want or need it. A feeling of remorse came over me and I wanted to give the money I collected to the young man, but he had left with his friend, continuing to argue about money as the hurried up the street.
The moon is still overhead as I write - the past five days have brought me some late morning dreams...
I can't help but think that the moon was the silver coin I held in my hand, the one with an unrecognizable face.
