Two Strange Dreams and A Nightmare

Bears, boys, and postal rates

I've been dreaming a lot lately. Well, to be more precise, I've been remembering my dreams lately. That's unusual for me. I often dream vividly, but forget what it was all about as soon as I wake.

Here's a sampling of my recent dream adventures.

• I was driving my car through the woods on a terribly crooked road. My kids and other people were with me. A large, brown, bear cub was also in the back seat. Except for his color, he looked a lot like Knut, the polar bear cub at the Berlin zoo. The cub wasn't mean, but he was biting and scratching playfully (much like our half-grown kitten.) We were taking him to the park ranger's house. Finally, we arrived. We put the bear out of the car and started to drive away, but the ranger came running out of his house. "Wait! Come back!" he shouted. "You can't just dump a bear here for free. There's a $20 fee for bears..."

• I was at a social event of some sort. I was wearing heels, and I was walking around gracefully in them. I was surprised at how comfortable they were. Apparently, I was young, beautiful and charming, because men were standing in line to talk to me. (Yes, really.) I was enjoying myself! Then my little brother appeared and started whining. He was hungry. He was tired. He wanted to go home! I took a good look at him. That wasn't my little brother. I don't have a little brother! That was my son, Isaac...

• I was at the UPS store with two packages to mail. I was happy because they were light in weight. I had my money in my hand and I was ready to pay. The clerk weighed them. We decided they should go by U.S. mail, not UPS. Then she and another clerk had a long hushed discussion. Finally, my clerk announced the price. "Nineteen dollars and twenty cents." "Nineteen dollars and twenty cents?" I shrieked. "Nineteen dollars and twenty cents," she said. "It's the new rates." I put away my money and got out my debit card. Then I went to my car and sat for a few moments in shocked disbelief. When would I wake up?!
  

Actually, the last little story above wasn't a dream plot at all. It really happened to me yesterday.

I paid $7.50 to send a little knit top in a padded envelope by standard mail to Mama Netz in Kansas City. The girl said mail was cheaper than UPS for it. And I paid $11.70 to send a backpack by standard mail to Freeport, Maine for repair. The backpack didn't weigh much. Most of its weight was the small cardboard box it was in.

The total for the two packages: $19.20.

I'm thinking about my mother-in-law's Christmas. Early in December, I've been sending her several pounds of homemade candy (made from her recipes) to share at the assisted living center. Then I've sent a second package with several gifts at Christmas.

It's hard to know what to do for her at Christmas because she doesn't want or need anything, except to be young and strong again.

This year, I need to get an estimate on how much the postage or freight will be. If it's too much, I'll have to think of a new way to do Christmas for her -- and that's a nightmare.

Technorati tags: dream, bad dream, nightmare, postal rates, Christmas