Some dreams are only dreams. They come to us through the mixing of our yearnings and our fears. They drift through our sleep, filled with images and sounds forged from both memory and wish.
They feel as insubstantial as clouds. They exist, but they are made of nothing we can touch.
But some dreams are more. Some of them, when we are very lucky, are truly visits from those we have lost.
Last night my father came to see me. He came to me as I slept because he’s been gone from this earth for more than ten years now.
I dreamed of my Dad.
I dreamed that I was walking in a foggy place. I couldn’t see what was around me, but I felt myself moving. And then I saw him, my Dad. Right there, right in front of me.
I felt myself begin to cry. I felt the pain in my chest, and in my throat. There were tears on my face that I felt as they moved down my cheeks. I sobbed and felt the loss of breath.
In my sleep, I reached for Dad, expecting to be aware of him only as a dream. I expected the one dimensional feel of him; an image that I could see but one that would have no substance.
Instead, as I hugged him, I felt the warmth of his breath in my hair and the feel of his arms around me. A shock of recognition and awareness jolted through me, and I said, “Oh, Dad, it’s really you!”
He laughed. His real, Dad laugh, and put his hand on my cheek. “Oh,” he said, in his own voice. “I’m here! Don’t cry!”
I held his hand in mine and looked at his fingers, his knuckles, the way the skin was pulled smooth across the back of his hand. I felt the rough texture of his palm and the pads of his fingers.
These were details that I’d forgotten about him. Awake, I would never have known them again.
But he was there. Smiling at me, laughing at the foolishness of my grief. As often happens in these vivid, “visitation” dreams, I knew what he was thinking without hearing all of his words.
“It’s OK! You’re fine.” I felt that he was amused and touched by my sadness, but I knew that it didn’t worry him.
And then the visit was over.
I don’t remember him leaving, but I remember waking up, feeling comforted, but feeling cheated, too. He had been there, for really real, but he was gone again.
I dreamed of my Father. I smelled his skin, felt the softness of his hair. I was held in his arms, against his familiar chest.
It was him. He was here.
I want to go back to sleep. I want him to come and see me once again.
Empty Nest, Full Life 
This was so touching. I have never had a dream involving him, although at times, when things are rough, I ask him for advice. However, I inherited my father’s truck after he died. It’s been over 20 years now. I distinctly remember getting into the truck one evening to run an errand not too long after his death. I buckled the seat belt and suddenly the most overwhelming smell of his favorite aftershave (Old Spice) filled the truck. I was awestruck and then the tears started. I can understand the feeling you have of wanting to return to that dream. I wanted so bad to get into the truck and smell that smell again, but it never came back…
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That was him! I am absolutely sure of it. My sister-in-law had the same experience with her Dad’s cigar. She didn’t want to say anything when she suddenly smelled it a short time after he died, but then her husband said, “I know this is weird, but I smell you Dad’s cigar.” They do come back, and there is life after this one!
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T think sometimes we really need those dreams to sustain us. Missing a loved one is real, the acute sense loneliness, the emptiness you feel when you think of them.
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So very true Arlene – I’m struggling this year with my loneliness and emptiness for my parents….
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How beautiful and so touching. I would love that to happen with me and my son. I would love to hear his voice again. Wonderful event for you.
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I wish you a visitation dream soon…it is heartbreaking but so lovely when it happens. Now I wish I could conjure those dreams up when I need them.
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How moving. It’s great that you still have such acute memories of him. Your relationship must have been very special. Thank you for sharing.
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My Dad was love by everyone who knew him, truly. If anyone could find a way to come back for a visit or two, it would be him.
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May that embrace last you until the next one – love you!!
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Love you too, my sweet! I know that your Mom is right there beside you every single day. I KNOW it….I wish you a dream visit of your own….
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Beautiful confirmation that your dad is still with you and watching over you. As they say, love never dies.
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And now I know that is true!
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Oh I used to dream of my Mum coming back to visit with me often, but now they happen so far and few apart – I always end up in tears when I wake because I just want the dream to keep going for just a little longer.
Thank you for this beautiful post, what a great gift this dream was!
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